Madeira (archipelago)

Madeira Island is the largest island of the archipelago with an area of ​​740.7 km² (more than 90% of the total area of ​​the archipelago), it is 57 km long and 22 km wide at its widest point and has a total coast length of 150 km. The longest axis is located between east and west, along which lies a chain of mountains with a height of up to 1220 meters, from which many deep gorges begin, diverging towards the coast. The most famous cliff of the island of Kabu-Zhiran is one of the highest in Europe . The highest point of the island is Piku Ruyu , 1862 meters above sea level. ^[2]

In the south there are very few relatives of Monteverde , the subtropical forests that used to cover the entire island (the landed Portuguese burned them to farming ) and gave it a name (Madeira in Portuguese means wood). However, in the north, many native forests remained in the valleys , in particular the forests on the northern slopes of Madeira are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites .

• Madeira (740.7 km²)
  • Agostinho (east)
  • Sao Lawrence (in the east)
  • Moths (in the northwest)
• Porto Santo (42.5 km²)
  • Baixu y da Cal (in the south)
  • Ferru (in the southwest)
  • Senurash (north)
  • Fora (North of Senurash)
  • Sima (in the east)
• Ilyash-Desertash (14.2 km²)
  • Ilya Desert Grandi
  • Bujiu
  • Shan

The autonomous region of Madeira consists of 10 municipalities:

• Santa Cruz;
• Kaleta;
• Camara de Lobos;
• Funchal
• Santana
• San Vicente;
• Mashiku;
• Ponta do Sol;
• Porto Manish;
• Ribeira Brava;
• Porto Santo.

The geographical position of Madeira Island and the mountainous landscape create a very pleasant climate , which differs slightly from north to south and depending on the island of the archipelago. Madeira has a subtropical - Mediterranean climate ( Köppen Climate Classification : Csb ) ^[3] , which is heavily influenced by the Gulf Stream , which provides the island with one of the mildest climates in the world. The average annual sea temperature is 20 ° C in winter and 23 ° C in summer. The summer season lasts almost year-round, although during the period from December to April the temperature often drops below 20 ° C.

Madeira Island is the peak of a large thyroid volcano , rising about 6 km above the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in the underwater mountain range of the Torah, located on the African plate . The volcano formed on a rift in the oceanic crust . Volcano formation began in the Miocene era more than 5 million years ago and ended in the Pleistocene about 700,000 years ago. ^[5] This was followed by severe erosion , which formed two large circles in the central part of the island.

Later, volcanic activity resumed, forming new peaks and lava flows on top of the old layers. The most recent volcanic eruptions occurred in the west-central part of the island just 6,500 years ago. ^[five]

In Madeira there are three species, endemic to birds: Madeira typhoon , Madeira pigeon and Madeira king .

The island is also very important for breeding other seabirds , including Madeira Butterfly and Pied Atlantic Petrels .

Macaronesia is a place of important natural diversity. Forests on the archipelago are very similar to the forests of the Tertiary period , which covered southern Europe and North Africa millions of years ago.

Madeira's enormous biodiversity is phytogeographically associated with the Mediterranean , Africa , America, and Australia . Interest in plant geography has grown recently due to the discovery of new types of epiphytes with very different development.

Madeira has a lot of endemic species, mostly invertebrates , including the extremely rare Madeira Cabbage , as well as some vertebrates , such as some species of lizards and birds mentioned above. Europe 's largest tarantula lives in deserts on Ilyash-Desertash and reaches the size of a human hand. More than 250 species of land mollusks ( snails and slugs ) live on these islands, some with a very unusual pattern and colors of the shell. Most of them are endemic and endangered (such as the snail of the species Boettgeria obesiuscula ).