Friday, April 25, 2008

Skywatch Friday.


















As part of a Friday Skywatch theme today I am posting a photo which was taken this morning by myself on a tour I took around part of the west coast of Malta. I must admit that this part of the island is fantastic for some scenery photos.

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Filfla is a small, uninhabited islet 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. It belongs to the town of Żurrieq [1].

The name is believed to come from filfel, the Arabic for a peppercorn.

It has an area of just 6 hectares (15 acres) and is a crumbling flat-topped limestone plateau surrounded by 60 metre high cliffs. The only known permanent structure on it was a chapel built inside a cave in 1343, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1856 that also sank part of the island. Until 1971 the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force used the island for target practice. It became a bird reserve in 1980. The Filfla Natural Reserve Act, enacted in 1988, provided for further restrictions on access and use, including a prohibition on fishing within a nautical mile (1.9 km) around due to the possibility of unexploded ordnance. Three species of sea birds breed on the islet: the European Storm Petrel (c.5,000 pairs), Cory's Shearwater (c.200 pairs) and Yellow-legged Gull (c.130pairs). A type of wall lizard (Podarcis filfolensis ssp. filfolensis) and door snail (Lampedusa imitatrix gattoi) are endemic to Filfla. A large wild leek, growing up to 2m high, also occurs. There is a small rocky islet next to Filfla, called Filfoletta.

Access to Filfla is only possible for educational or scientific purposes and visitors must get prior permission from the Ministry responsible for the environment.

13 comments:

Juliana said...

wow...beautiful

Please check out mine Thanks

Anonymous said...

Great capture...

Will you visit mine Thanks

Anonymous said...

This is an interesting photo. Is that an island in the distance? Nice selection for Sky Watch Friday.

Anonymous said...

Great photo :-)

SandyCarlson said...

It sure is fantastic!

Janet said...

You even captured the haze. Great photo.

Anonymous said...

Great one.

Daniel J Santos said...

Beautiful place, beautiful image, excellent.

Tom said...

I can well imagine how nice that was.. Malta as always looked stunning when I have seen anything to do with it.

Dina said...

Shalom Dina,
What an interesting story of that island! Thanks for introducing us to it. And it's fun to try to say
Filfla.
Shalom from the other Dina :)

Unknown said...

Great capture!

FO - 2 said...

Lovely! :)

Petunia said...

Nice choice for Sky watch:)
Petunia's ABC