Geography of Cyprus | |
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Part of the world | Asia |
Region | Mediterranean area |
Coordinates | 35 ° 00'N, 33 ° 00'E. |
Square |
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Coastline | 648 km |
Highest point | 1 952 m ( Olympus ) |
The island of Cyprus is located in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, near the coast of Lebanon and Turkey. Geographically, the island belongs to Asia.
Content
Relief
Most of the island is occupied by mountains. Along the northern coast in the latitudinal direction stretches the mountain range of Kyrenia . Its width in the western part is 15 km, to the east it expands to 25-30 km. The western part of the Kyrenia Ridge is higher; individual peaks exceed 1 thousand meters. The highest point of the range is Mount Akromanda (1,023 m). The southwestern half of the island is occupied by a wide mountain range of Troodos, cut by longitudinal river valleys. Its northern part is the highest, and here is the highest point of Cyprus - Mount Olympibos (1951 m).
Between the ridges lies the lowland, flat-hilly plain of Mesaoria , irrigated during the rainy period by the temporary currents of the Akaki River in the west and the Pedieos River in the east. The Mesaoria Plain is composed of marine sediments, mostly of the Quaternary. Protected by mountains from the winds, this plain has a favorable climate and is the breadbasket of Cyprus. Fields of wheat and barley alternate here with groves of olive, mulberry and orange trees, and at the foothills are replaced by vineyards.
Falling to the east and southeast, the Mesaoria Plain passes into the coastal lowlands of Ammochostos and Larnaca bays.
Sharp contrasts of the landscape can be seen in Cyprus: bright green groves of oil and citrus crops are combined with dry yellow foothills, lush meadows with a colorful carpet of flowers and walnut groves with wild rocks of treeless mountain peaks, azure coast with white spots of yachts with winter needles forest and dazzling hat snow Troodos mountains.
Geological structure of the island
Cyprus consists of several tectonic plates pulled over each other. The southwestern and northeastern parts of the island are composed of chalky sedimentary rocks, and between them lies the Troodos ophiolite complex , which is a fragment of the oceanic crust of the Tethys ocean. These are the most common features of the structure of the island is easy to see in satellite images.
The Troodos ophiolite complex is one of the most studied in the world. It is considered one of the standards of oceanic crust.
Climate
The climate in Cyprus is Mediterranean, with humid warm winters and very hot dry summers. The average annual temperature reaches + 20.5 °. The average temperature of the hottest month (August) is + 28 °, and the coldest (January) is 12 °. The average annual rainfall is small: on the plains - 360-400 mm, and in the mountains - 700-1000 mm. They are distributed unevenly. In the valleys and on the coast is very dry. In Mesaoria, precipitation does not exceed 250 mm. Maximum precipitation falls in mountainous areas. In Troodos in some years, their number exceeds 1000 mm. December and January are considered the wettest months on the island. Frosts in Cyprus with a decrease in temperature to −4 ° - a rare phenomenon.
Hydrography
There are almost no permanent rivers in Cyprus . All of them are characterized by low water, originate in the mountains and have autumn and winter floods. Most of the rivers of the island are short, the longest of them have a length of 50-70 km. The main source of power for rivers is atmospheric precipitation. During the winter rains, rivers overflow and even cause flooding. In the hot summer period, they become so shallow that they form only thin streams, squirming along the bare channel, and many dry up completely. The most significant rivers of Cyprus are the Akaki with tributaries, as well as the Pedieos and Yalias .
The largest body of water in Cyprus is the Limassol Salt Lake, located on the Akrotiri peninsula.
On the coast of Cyprus there are 6 large bays: Chrysochou and Morphu - on the north-west coast, Famagusta - on the east coast, Larnaca - on the south-east, Akrotiri and Eiskopi - on the south.