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ABOUT MALTA - GEOGRAPHY  FORMATION OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS There are two main theories of how the Maltes Islands were formed. One of them is that thousands of years ago, or even perhaps millions of years ago, when the rocks beneath the sea was still not hard enough, great eruptions of molted lava from the Earth's centre must have forced the land upwards, rising above the sea level to form these Islands. Another theory is that thousands of years ago, the Mediterranean Sea was a very big lake, seperated from the Atlantic ocean, with the sea level higher than in present time, so that the Maltese Islands were beneath the Sea level, and when the Earth's temperature had risen, thus melting enormous amounts of ice from Europe, and poured into the Mediterranean Sea with such a force, that it's pressure had forced the land that joined Africa with today's Straights of Gibralter to fall, letting the water out from the Mediterranean Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean to become a one sea level, with the Maltese Islands emerging above the water as the sea level went lower and lower. Evidence of all this are the large amount of sea shells, urchins, and amonites, some of them extinct, from today's life, that can be seen embedded in the rocks, especially in (Dwejra) Gozo, and even on the highest hills of Malta like Dingli Cliffs.  GEOGRAPHY OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS The Maltese Islands lies about 93 km south of Sicily, and 288 km north of Libya. The archipelago consists of Mainland Malta, 27 km at its longest point, and 14 km at its widest, Gozo, 14 km at its longest point, and 7 km at its widest, Comino, barely a 1.5sq. Km, and smaller uninhabited Islands of Cominotto, St'Paul's Island, and Filfla, nowadays considered as a Natural Reserve, dew to its unique fauna. Altoghether they measure an area of 316 sq. km. There are no mountains on the Islands, and the highest point in Malta is (Rdum dikkiena), in Dingli Cliffs, at 829 feet, equivalent to 253 metres high, whilst the highest point in Gozo is 417 feet, equivalent to 127 metres high, and lies between the villages of Nadur and Xaghra. In general, the northern coasts of Malta and Gozo, falls down gradually to sea levels, whilst the southern coasts of the Islands are made up of high cliffs. The Islands are made up of lower coralline limestone, locally called as (taz-zonqor), upper coralline limestone, locally called as (tal-qawwi), globigerina limestone, locally called as (tal-franka), greensand, locally called as (gebla safra), and blue clay, locally called as (tat-tafli), and are surrounded by crystal clear blue waters of the Mediterranean sea, which makes it definitely a prime spot for scuba diving.  CLIMATE The climate in Malta is very welcoming, with a very short moderate winter, at an average temperature of 16°C, and a long hot summer, at an average temperature of 30°C. The sun shines for nearly all days of the year, with an average of seven hours during winter, and eleven hours during summer. Local Time is One Hour Ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
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