Transport in Madeira was a steam-powered cog railway (Monte Railway) from Funchal to Monte, which operated between 1893 and 1943, and went further up to Terreiro da Luta at 867 m above sea level. Bus companies such as Horários do Funchal, Rodoeste and SAM (Sociedade de automóveis da Madeira) have been operating for over one hundred years, and they have regularly scheduled routes to all points of interest on the island. The "Direcção Regional dos Transportes Terrestres" is the department of the regional government responsible for land transportation in the autonomous region. Transport in Madeira The Madeira islands and Funchal have an extensive
Geology of Madeira to the end of the Pleistocene ice ages means that some Quaternary marine terraces are as much as 100 meters above sea level. Groundwater on Madeira is held in fractured volcanic rock aquifers, with widely varying transmissivity and dissolved mineral content. Water is generally slightly acidic to slightly alkaline and cold, although there are small quantities of thermal water near fault zones. Much of the water on the island comes from high-discharge springs. Leptosols, cambisols and andisols are the three main soil types on the island. Madeira has few natural resources and no mining, aside from small-scale extraction of sand