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
Maddalena archipelago on maneuvers in the area. Maddalena archipelago The 'Maddalena Archipelago' is a group of islands in the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica (France) and north-eastern Sardinia (Italy). The archipelago consists of seven main islands and numerous small islets. The largest one is the island of La Maddalena (), with an homonymous town of La Maddalena, which is the largest settlement at the archipelago. The other six islands, in order of size, are: Caprera, Spargi, Santo Stefano, Santa Maria, Budelli and Razzoli. Only Maddalena, Caprera and Santo Stefano are inhabited. Lying adjacent to the tourist resort of the Costa Smeralda, Maddalena