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MADEIRA, or THE MADE1RAS
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See also:MADEIRA, or THE MADE1RAS , a See also:group of islands in the See also:North See also:Atlantic Ocean, which belong to See also:Portugal, and consist of two inhabited islands named Madeira and See also:Porto Santo and two See also:groups of uninhabited rocks named the Desertas and Selvagens. Pop. (1900), 150,574; See also:area, 314 sq. m. See also:Funchal, the See also:capital of the See also:archipelago, is on the See also:south See also:coast of Madeira See also:Island, in 32° 37' 45" N. and 16 54' W. It is about 36o m. from the coast of See also:Africa, 535 from See also:Lisbon, 1215 from See also:Plymouth, 240 from See also:Teneriffe, and 48o from See also:Santa Maria, the nearest of the See also:Azores. Madeira (pop. 1900, 148,263), the largest island of the group, has a length of 30 m., an extreme breadth of 12 m., and a coast-See also:line of 8o or 90 M. Its longer See also:axis lies See also:east and See also:west, in which direction it is traversed by a See also:mountain See also:chain, the backbone of the island, having a mean See also:altitude of 4000 ft., up to which many deep ravines penetrate from both coasts and render travel by See also:land very difficult. See also:Pico Ruivo, the highest See also:summit, stands in the centre of the island, and has a height of 6056 ft., while some of the adjacent summits are very little See also:lower. The See also:depth and narrowness of the ravines, the loftiness of the rugged peaks, often covered with See also:snow, that ' See also:tower above them, the bold precipices of the coast, and the proximity of the See also:sea, afford many scenes of picturesque beauty or striking grandeur. The greater See also:part of the interior is uninhabited, though cultivated, for the towns, villages and scattered huts are usually built either at the mouths of ravines or upon the lower slopes that extend from the mountains to the coast. The ridges between the ravines usually terminate in lofty headlands, one of which, called Cabo Girao, has the height of 1920 ft., and much of the seaboard is See also:bound by precipices of dark See also:basalt. The north coast, having been more exposed to the erosion of the sea, is more precipitous than the south, and presents every-where a wilder aspect. On the south there is See also:left very little of the indigenous See also:forest which once clothed the whole island and gave it the name it bears (from the Portuguese madeira. See also:Lat. materia, See also:wood), but on the north some of the valleys still contain native trees of See also:fine growth. A See also:long, narrow and comparatively See also:low rocky promontory forms the eastern extremity of the island; and here is a See also:tract of calcareous See also:sand, known as the Fossil See also:Bed, containing land shells and numerous bodies resembling the roots of trees, probably produced by infiltration. Porto Santo is about 25 M. N.E. of Madeira. Pop. (19o0), 2311. It has a length of 63 m. and a width of 3 M. The capital is Porto Santo, called locally the See also:villa or See also:town. The island is very unproductive, See also:water being scarce and wood wholly absent. Around the little town there is a considerable tract of See also:pretty level ground covered by calcareous sand containing fossil land-shells. At each end of the island are hills, of which Pico do Facho, the highest, reaches the altitude of 1663 ft. See also:Barley, but little else, is grown here, the limited requirements of the inhabitants being supplied from Funchal. The Deserlas See also:lie about 11 m. S.E. of Madeira, and consist of three islands, Ilheo Chao, Bugio and Deserta Grande, together with See also:Sail See also:Rock off the north end of Ilheo Chao. They See also:present lofty precipices to the sea on all sides. Rabbits and goats abound on them. The See also:archil See also:weed grows on the rocks, and is gathered for exportation. The largest islet (Deserta Grande) is 62 m. long, and attains the height of r610 ft. These rocks are conspicuous See also:objects in the sea-views from Funchal. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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