Geography of Malta

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

KML
GPX (all coordinates)
GPX (primary coordinates)
GPX (secondary coordinates)

The geography of Malta is dominated by water. Malta is an archipelago of coralline limestone, located in Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea, 81 kilometres south of Sicily, Italy,^[1] and nearly 300 km north (Libya) and northeast (Tunisia) of Africa. Although Malta is situated in Southern Europe, it is located farther south than Tunis, capital of Tunisia, Algiers, capital of Algeria, Tangier in Morocco and also Aleppo in Syria, and Mosul in Iraq in the Middle East. Only the three largest islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino – are inhabited. Other (uninhabited) islands are: Cominotto, Filfla and the St.Paul's Islands. The country is approximately 316 km² (122 sq mi) in area. Numerous bays along the indented coastline of the islands provide harbours. The landscape of the islands is characterised by high hills with terraced fields. The highest point, at 253 metres, Ta' Zuta on mainland Malta. The capital is Valletta.

Statistics

Malta has a total area of 315.718 km²,^[2] with land making up 315.718 km² and water taking up zero area. Compared to other political entities, this makes Malta:

(Australia) slightly less than one-seventh the Australian Capital Territory's size;
(Canada) roughly one-eighteenth Prince Edward Island's size;
(UK) slightly smaller than the Isle of Wight;
(US) slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC.

Excluding 56 km from the island of Gozo, Malta has a coastline of 196.8 km. Its maritime claims of territorial sea are 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi), contiguous zone is 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi), continental shelf is 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation, and Malta's exclusive fishing zone spans 25 nmi (46.3 km; 28.8 mi).

Islands

Climate

Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.

Elevation extremes

The lowest point is the Mediterranean Sea at 0 m and the highest point is Ta' Dmejrek at 253 m.

Land use

Arable land: 28.12%
Permanent crops: 4.06%
Other: 67.81% (2011)

Irrigated land

32 km² (2007)

Total renewable water resources

0.05 km³ (2011)

Environment

Current issues

Limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination.

International Agreements

Party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

References

^ From Żebbuġ in Malta, coordinates: 36°04'48.2"N 14°15'06.7"E to Cava d'Aliga (Scicli) in Italy, coordinates: 36°43'22.5"N 14°41'10.9"E – Google Maps
^ a b c d e f g State of the Environment Report for Malta 1998 Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
^ a b c d e f g h "Islands of Malta". GeoNames. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Topography and Flora of the Satellite islets surrounding the Maltese Archipelago" - Arnold Sciberras, Jeffrey Sciberras, 2010
^ Il-Gebla tal-Halfa Archived 2017-01-06 at the Wayback Machine - Malta Environment & Planning Authority (MEPA)
^ Site factsheet for Il-Gebla tal-Halfa - EUNIS
^ "A contribution to the knowledge of the terrestrial Mammalian fauna of Comino and its satellite islets (Maltese Archipelago)" - Biodiversity Journal, 2012, 3 (3): 191-200
^ Caruana, Joseph (2011). "Toponomi t'Għajnsielem (1)" (PDF). L-Imnara. 9 (4). Rivista tal-Għaqda Maltija tal-Folklor: 189. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2016.