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Minorca is located in the centre of the western Mediterranean, at the same distance from the Iberic Peninsula and Sardinia, from the Languedoc and Algeria. It is the furthest to the east and north of the Balearic archipelago and together with its 702 square kilometres and 216 kilometres of coastline it is (after Majorca) the second largest. It has a stretched shape known by mathematics as a parallelepipedon and by the prosaics its shape resembles that of a kidney or bean. The furthest distance to be run is between Cabo de la Mola on the eastern coast and Cabo de Bajolí on the western side: 53km.
We can confirm the island as flat as it has no great mountains. The highest points are located in the middle: El Toro (358m), S'Esclusa (267m) and Santa Águeda (260m).
By travelling around the island we will soon appreciate the wide variety of landscapes: lagoons and marshes, small springs, smooth hills and deep gorges are some of the natural treasures.
Its coastline opens into safe anchoring sites like the magnificent port of Maó, one of the largest in the world.
From a geological point of view the island is clearly divided in two areas; the Tramontana and the Es Migjorn, separated by an imaginary line running from the end of the port of Maó, following the main road to Ciutadella and reaching Pla Verd to later head north until Cala Morell.
The northern area is known as Tramontana and it has three different sub-areas. The first, situated within the north of Maó, Es Mercadal and Ferreries is formed by primary materials with a slate, sandstone quartz appearance. Its low level coast is rocky and irregular. The second sub-area is composed of materials from the lower Triassic, red and yellowish sandstone quartz type and clay sediments at the deeper layers. There are small rocky formations with thick vegetation and its coasts are mainly high cliffs. The third, ranging from the north of Alaior and part of the land between Ciutadella and Ferreries, holds Jurassic platforms occupied by forest extensions and rocky coastlines. The southern area is known as Es Migjorn. This region is composed of Miocene limestone commonly named "mares". Its landscape is quite even, outstanding the number of gorges the cross the Miocene platform leading out to coves and beaches.
Text: visitmenorca.com
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