Physiography

Abstract

According to literature data (Haslam 1969; Schembri 1993) the Maltese Islands consist in a small archipelago aligned along an axis with NW-SE trend, situated in the Central Mediterranean about 96 km to the South of Sicily and about 284 km to Tunisia (Fig. 2.1). The main islands are Malta (245.7 km2, coord. 35° 55′ 4″ N and 14° 24′ 35″ E), which is the largest and southern, Gozo (67.1 km2, coord. 36° 2′ 39″ N and 14° 15′ 4″ E), which is the northernmost, and Comino (3.5 km2, coord. 36° 00′ 45″ N and 14° 19′ 37″ E), which is located between these two islands. They are currently inhabited by about 445,000 people, most of which reside in Malta. Nearby these island there are numerous rocky islets, all uninhabited, among them the most extensive are Cominotto, Filfla, Islands of St. Paul, Fungus Rock, Gallis Roch, Delimara island, Xrobb I-Ghagin Rock, etc. Along the coast bays and inlets, often very deep, which are excellent harbors, are frequent some of which are characterized by sandy beaches. The eastern slopes of the islands are generally represented by low reefs and beaches, while the southern ones are mostly constituted by vertical cliffs, often exceeding 100 m from sea level. In the more depressed coastal stretches, separated from the sea by sandy or silty-clay deposits, are frequent salt marshes, periodically flooded by sea and meteoric waters. Along the low calcareous rocky shoreline often occur chequerboards of rock-cut saltpans, which are used by the local people for salt production as result of the seawater evaporation. It’s believed that these saltpans existed since Roman times. The current landscape of the Maltese Islands is characterized by low hills, alternating with terraced plateaux, which are generally furrowed by more or less shallow valleys, locally called “Wied”, which were formed prevalently by river erosion in periods characterized by very wet climatic regimes, as during the Pleistocene (Fig. 2.2). This is nothing but the result of tectonic movements and subsequent processes of surface erosion and karsism, which starts on the land immediately after its emersion from the sea. The islands do not reach high altitudes, the highest point in Malta is Ta′ Dmejrek near Dingli at 253 m, while in Gozo the highest point is Ta′ Dbiegi, reaching 195 m. As concerns the rivers, there are only few small watercourses that flow on the bottom of some valleys mainly during the wet season, which are dry for the rest of the year. In fact, usually no permanent rivers and lakes occur in the Maltese Islands, except of few streams fed by small springs of fresh water, such as those ones at Ras ir-Raħeb near Baħrija and at l-Imtaħleb. Most of the Maltese territory is today under cultivation with crops localized especially in land characterized by terracing with walls that surround them, preventing the soil erosion. Usually, the terrace walls follow the contours of the slopes radiating from the hill top and probably their realization dates back to ancient times and was continued until the nineteenth century. The terrace farming and in general the cultivated areas are more widespread on the freshest and humid slopes of hills and valleys or on flat surfaces where is possible the irrigation. The surfaces constituted by barren rocks very washed out and eroded, however without soil, are covered by a scattered and wild vegetation, represented by small shrubs and grasses. Only in few undisturbed and rocky stands it is still possible to find patches of natural woody vegetation, as maquis, garigues and shrublands. Besides, examples of natural woodlands, such as those with Quercus ilex, today are very rare and can be considered as relicts of the forestal vegetation that originally covered part of these islands. It should be noted that the present landscape of the Maltese Islands is nothing but the result of the anthropic impact that has acted on this territory in the last 7000 years. According to literature (Renfrew 1972; Cutajar 1982), the first human colonization goes back to about 5200 BC and this prehistoric period ended in 750 BC. In particular, the earliest human civilization that reached these islands coming from Sicily dates back to Neolithic period (5200–4400 BC), with people having a hunter-gatherer culture, who probably did not have a strong impact on the natural environment. Towards the end of this period (4500–4100 BC) the population began to practice a primitive agriculture. During the Chalcolithic Age (4200–2500 BC), due to the arrival of other people from Sicily there was a marked improvement in agriculture that became more efficient and intensive, with a spread of pastoral activities. The Chalcolithic civilization of Malta, which is associated to the buildings of megalithic temples, due to intense sheep-grazing caused a depletion of natural resources with the degradation of vegetation cover and consequent denudation of the surfaces for soil loss. This was probably the main cause of the disappearance of this civilization towards 2500 BC, since it triggered off famines and diseases in the population of these islands, as hypothesized by the archaeologists. After 2500 BC, Malta remained unpopulated for several decades, until the arrival of a new migratory flow of people, called builders of Dolmen, who started the Maltese Bronze Age. This new civilization lasted about 1000 years, until 1450 BC, its end coincides with the eruption of Santorini which caused upheaval throughout the Mediterranean. After up to 750 BC, other peoples arrived in Malta, mainly farmers, who then became fully integrated with the culturally far superior Phoenician civilization, whose population colonized the islands later this date. After this prehistoric period, during which Malta suffered a first devastation of the original vegetal cover, the islands from 218 BC fell under Roman rule, becoming a prosperous colony (Ballou 1893; Cassar 2000). Malta remained part of the Roman Empire until the early sixth century AD. After a brief occupation of Vandals and Ostrogoths, Malta in 535 AD was conquered by the Byzantines, becoming a colony. The successive invasion was that of Muslims that began in 870 AD. The native population was massacred, remaining the island uninhabited for about 150 years. After, the islands were colonized by a Muslim community that, although short-lived, introduced, apart of the language, also many innovative crops and new irrigation techniques, that are still used by farmers. Around 1100, with the expulsion of the Muslims, the Maltese islands returned under Christian rule with the Normans, remaining part of the Kingdom of Sicily for about 440 years. From 1530 to 1798 it was ruled by the Knights of Malta who embellished and fortified the islands, protecting it from the Ottoman invasions. After a brief Napoleonic period, Malta since 1800 became a protectorate of the British Empire which lasted until 1965, when the state of Malta was created.