Malta (island) in an archipelago in the central Mediterranean, some south of the Italian island of Sicily across the Malta Channel. Malta is located east of its sister islands of Gozo and Comino. It lies on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf formed from the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa that became isolated as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age. Malta is therefore situated in the zone between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. Numerous bays along the indented coastline of the islands provide good harbours. The landscape consists of low hills with terraced
Districts of Malta Districts of Malta Malta is subdivided in districts of localities in order to administer the country in regions rather than locality. The districts have no administrative significance as the local councils provide the first-tier divisions of the country. There are 6 districts, used for statistical purposes and which are, in turn, grouped into 3 regions: Gozo, Malta Majjistral and Malta Xlokk. Each district consists of a number of localities. The Northern Harbour District, Western District and Northern District together form the North Western Region ("Malta Majjistral"). The South Eastern District and Southern Harbour District together form the South Eastern Region