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The Madeira Islands is a Portuguese archipelago in the north Atlantic Ocean that lies between the parallels of 32º 22' 20
The archipelago lies about 360 miles from the coast of Africa, 535 miles from Lisbon, 240 from Tenerife, and 480 from Santa Maria, the nearest of the AzoresThe Azores (or Acores in Portuguese) are an archipelago of Portuguese islands situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from Lisbon and about 3,900 km from the east coast of North America. The nine Azorean Islands extend for more than 6.
Madeira is the largest island of the group with 741 km ², has a length of 30 geographical miles (57 km), an extreme breadth of 13 miles (22 km), and a coastline of 80 or 90 miles. Its longer axis lies east and west, in which direction it is traversed by a mountain chain, the backbone of the island, having a mean altitude of 4000 feet, up to which many deep ravines penetrate from both coasts.
On the south there is very little left of the indigenous forest which once clothed the whole island and gave it the name it bears (
Madeira means "wood" in PortuguesePortuguese portugues is a Romance language predominantly spoken in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and East Timor. With more than 200 million native speakers, Portuguese is one of the few languages spoken in such widely-distributed parts), but on the north some of the valleys still contain native trees of fine growth. A long narrow and comparatively low rocky promontory forms the eastern extremity of the island, and here there is to be seen a tract of calcareous sand, known as the Fossil Bed, containg land shells and numerous bodies resembling the roots of trees, probably produced by infiltration.Its geographical position and mountainous landscape permit a very pleasing climate. Temperatures are about 22 degrees Celsius in the summer and circa 16 degrees Celsius during the winter. With its mild humidity, the weather of the Island is classified has subtropical. Influenced by the Gulf Stream, sea water temperature is 22 degrees Celsius during the summer and 16 in the winter. The islands are of volcanic origin.
The archipelago has valuable natural areas, notably the
laurisilvaLaurisilva is a type of humid subtropical forest found on several of the Macaronesian islands of the north Atlantic, namely the Azores, Madeira Islands, and the Canary Islands. The forests are made up of laurel-leaved evergreen hardwood trees, reaching up forests on the northern slopes of Madeira Island, which are designated a World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain range, lake, desert, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated for the international World Heritage program administered by UNESCO. The program aims to catalogue, name, by UNESCO.The islands are noted as the source of Madeira wineMadeira is a fortified wine made in the Madeira Islands of Portugal, which is prized equally for drinking and cooking; the later use including the dessert plum in madeira. Vinification The method of vinification is similar to that employed in other parts. The islands are also known by the Portuguese shoes, flowers and sub-tropical fruits.
There are circa 250,000 inhabitants (1991) in the two main islands, only 4,800 live in Porto Santo Island. The population density is 337 inhabitants per square kilometre in Madeira and 112 in Porto Santo. Most of the early settlers were from the Portuguese regions of the Algarve and Minho. The islands have historical monuments, streets and plazas (
praças) with many gardens and typical small towns, known has vilas.| Politics | Business | Finance |
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