Geology of Malta The largest of the second set are the Victoria Lines Fault on northern Malta and the Qala Fault on southern Gozo. Overall, the islands of the archipelago are tilted towards the northeast, with cliffs on the southwest coast and descending gradients towards the northeast. The Maltese archipalego is linked to Sicily by an underwater plateau of depths of less than 100 m. During different marine regressions of the Mediterranean, Malta has been connected to Sicily by a surface isthmus by which animals have been able to cross, as evinced by the presence of island dwarfism (Maltese dwarf hippopotamus and dwarf
Nordenskiöld Archipelago Russky Island (остров Русский; "Ostrov Russkiy") . Located at the archipelago's northern end, this is the largest island of the Nordenskiöld group. The Vostyochnyye Islands (Восточные острова; "Vostyochnyye Ostrova", "Eastern Islands"), latitude 76° 38' N and longitude 97° 30' E. This group includes the Kolomeitsev Islands (острова Коломейцева; "Ostrova Kolomeytseva") . The southern extension of the wider archipelago, consisting of the islands located south of the Matisen Strait near and around Taymyr Island. Kolchak Island, located further south, is not geographically part of the wider Nordenskiöld Archipelago. This archipelago was first reported in 1740 by Nikifor Chekin, who accompanied Semion