218 The Mediterranean Sea 



north, and off the coast of Valencia, we have the Balearic 

 Islands, namely, Majorca, Minorca, Iviza, and Ferment. 

 These also must be considered oceanic islands, and indeed two- 

 groups of oceanic islands. Iviza and Formentera are isolated 

 both from the Spanish coast and from the other two islands by 

 water of over 300 fathoms depth; Majorca and Minorca are 

 connected by a bank with no more than 50 fathoms of water 

 on it. Thirty miles east of Minorca there are more than 1400 

 fathoms; beyond that there are no soundings between the 

 Baleares and the large and important group of Corsica and 

 Sardinia. These islands are continental, being connected with 

 the Italian mainland by the bank on which Elba .occurs, and 

 which is covered by little over 50 fathoms of water. The Straits 

 of Bonifacio, which separate Corsica from Sardinia, are also 

 quite shallow, so that Corsica and Sardinia may be looked on 

 as a secondary peninsula attached to the Tuscan shore of 

 Italy by a shallow bank not more than 15 or 20 miles broad, 

 the deep water coming close up all round it. Almost the same 

 may be said of Sicily, including the Malta group, but excluding 

 the Lipari group, which is purely volcanic. From Cape Passaro, 

 in the south-east end of Sicily, a line-can be drawn connecting 

 it with the town of Tripoli, and without passing over water of 

 more than 300 fathoms. As has already been said, the west 

 end of Sicily is connected with the coast of Tunis by a ridge in 

 no part covered by more than 200 fathoms of water. Between 

 these two ridges lies a small but comparatively deep basin of 

 600 to 700 fathoms. At the western extremity of it lies the 

 mountainous island of Pantellaria. The bank on which Malta 

 is situated stretches for nearly 100 miles in a southerly direction 

 from Cape Passaro in Sicily. Opposite, on the African shore, 

 is a similar bank of much larger dimensions, on which are the 

 small islands Lampion and Lampedusa, belonging to Italy. In 

 the deep channel between them and Malta is the small but 

 lofty island Limosa. It is entirely volcanic, with an extinct 

 crater on its north-eastern side, and three smaller ones to the 

 southward. It resembles the Lipari group off the north coast 

 of Sicily, which rise abruptly out of deep water, being connected 

 by no bank either with the African or the Sicilian coasts. Some 



