Filfla
Filfla and neighboring Filfoletta seen from Dingli Cliffs (from northwest)
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| Geography | |
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| Location | off Malta, south of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea |
| Coordinates | 35°47′15″N 14°24′37″E / 35.78750°N 14.41028°E |
| Archipelago | Maltese islands |
| Area | 0.06 km2 (0.023 sq mi) |
| Coastline | 800 m (2,600 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 60 m (200 ft) |
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Malta
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| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
| Filfla | |
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| Coordinates: 35°47′15″N 14°24′37″E / 35.78750°N 14.41028°E |
Filfla is a small, mostly barren, uninhabited islet 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. Filfoletta (or Filflett), a small rocky islet some 102 metres (335 feet) southwest of Filfla, has the southernmost point of Malta. The name is believed to come from felfel, the Arabic for a peppercorn.
Filfla has an area of just 6 hectares (15 acres) and is a crumbling flat-topped limestone plateau surrounded by 60 metres (197 feet) high cliffs. Three species of seabirds breed on the islet: the European storm petrel (with an estimated 5000 - 8000 pairs), Cory's shearwater (c. 200 pairs) and yellow-legged gull (c. 130 pairs). The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International, principally because of the storm petrel colony. A type of wall lizard (Podarcis filfolensis ssp. filfolensis) and door snail (Lampedusa imitatrix gattoi) are endemic to Filfla. A large wild leek, growing up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high, also occurs. Access to Filfla is only possible for educational or scientific purposes and visitors must get prior permission from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.
The island of Filfla was possibly sacred to the neolithic inhabitants of Malta, who built the temples of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra on the Maltese coast opposite the islet. The Ħamrija Tower, one of 13 watchtowers that Martin de Redin built around the coast of Malta, as well as a memorial to Walter Norris Congreve, one of Malta's British governors, who was buried at sea in the channel between Filfla and Malta, are also located nearby on mainland Malta facing Filfla.
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Wikipedia