The group belongs to the British Empire. It extends over 29 m. Malta lat. From the dawn of maritime trade its possession has been important to the strongest nations on the sea for the time being. This chain of islands stretches from N. On the S. The general slope of these ridges is towards the N.
The Bingemma range, rising ft. There are good anchorages in the channels between Gozo and Comino, and between Comino and Malta. In addition to the harbours of Valletta, there are in Malta, facing N. There are landing places on the S. Mount Sceberras on which Valletta is built is a precipitous promontory about 1 m. It rises out of deep water; well-sheltered creeks indent the opposite shores on both sides.
The waters on the S. The series of bays to the N. Mighty fortifications and harbour works have assisted to make this ideal situation an emporium of Mediterranean trade. During the Napoleonic wars and the Crimean campaign the Grand Harbour was frequently overcrowded with shipping.
The gradual supplanting of sail by steamships has made Malta a coaling station of primary importance. But the tendency to great length and size in modern vessels caused those responsible for the civil administration towards the end of the 19th century to realize that the harbour accommodation was becoming inadequate for modern fleets and first-class liners. A breakwater was therefore planned on the Monarch shoal, to double the available anchorage area and increase the frontage of deep-water wharves available in all weathers.
Sardinia, and to the east of Marseilles. The beds are not folded. The general dip of the strata is from W. North of the Great Fault and at Comino the level of the beds is about ft. There is a system of lesser faults, parallel to the Great Fault, dividing the area into a number of blocks, some of which have fallen more than others. There are also indications of another series of faults roughly parallel to the south-east coast, which point to the islands being fragments of a former extensive plateau.
