Flag of Malta

The Republic of Malta is mainly composed of three Mediterranean islands : The island of Malta, the island of Gozo and the island of Comino (to which are added some islets : Cominotto, Filfla…).

Malta (Melitè of the Greeks, Melita of the Romans), the largest of these islands is located 90 kilometers south of the coast of Sicily and 290 kilometers from the eastern coast of Tunisia. It is located at 35° 50′ North latitude and 14° 35′ East longitude. Its surface area is 275 km2 (of the 316 km2 of the Republic). A deep sea trough separates it from the coast of Africa, while on the contrary it is connected by an underwater plateau of Eocene limestones to Sicily, and it has only been separated from it since the Quaternary era.

There are numerous fossils of elephants, similar to those of the neighbouring large island, but the size of which always decreased until they disappeared completely, perhaps because they no longer had enough space to feed and prosper. The fossil fauna of the Pleistocene period is still distinctly African.