Geography of Malta

The geography of Malta is dominated by water. Malta is an archipelago of coralline limestone, located in Southern Europe, but like most of Sicily sits on the African tectonic plate in the Mediterranean Sea. Malta is 81 kilometres (50 mi) south of Sicily, Italy, and nearly 300 km (190 mi) north (Libya) and northeast (Tunisia) of Africa. Although Malta is located farther south than Tunis and some other cities in North Africa, it is not the Southernmost point of Europe. 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 capital is Valletta.