Geography of Cyprus

Cyprus - the third island on magnitude in Mediterranean sea (the square - 9251  sq. km, the maximum length from the east on the West - 241  km, from the north on the south - 100  km). All Cyprus can be gone round by the car for one day - so that any excursion on island seems easy walk; reasonable prices of excursions (from 15 to 40 dollars) do their even more accessible.

The Island is had in a northeast part of the Mediterranean basin, on distance 380  km from Egypt, 105  km from Syria and 75  km from Turkey. The Greek continent is on 800  km to the west. The proximal Greek islands - Rhodes and Karpasos.

the Silhouette of Cyprus is arabesque, it is similar to the lizard who has fallen asleep on the sun. Cypriotes compare contours of the island to the zolotisto-emerald sheet which has fallen in the sea of an arbour. The neritic line of island in the north is cut up and skalista, and in the south is covered by long sandy coasts. At approach to island on the airplane numerous bays and gulfs, dark potherb of valleys in a brown frame of mounts are visible.

Mounts (reminding mounts of Crimea) cover almost half of island. Northern neritic plains with olive and carob trees are restricted by an abrupt and narrow mountain chain of a chalkstone of Northern row in which five acute apexes mount Pentadaktilos (in a translation from Greek deposits means five-fingered), its altitude attains 1024  m above sea level.

In the southwest the extensive hills Troodos covered with a pine, a scrub oak, a cypress and a cedar are had. On him there is an apex the Olympus, altitude 1952  m above sea level. It is the highest mount of island.

Between two mountain rows fertile valley Mesaoorii (in the east) and more more fertile basin to the Morph (in the west) is had. On island there are two salty loches. The total area of woods compounds nearby 20 % of terrain of Cyprus, an arable land total area - nearby 47 %.