Madeira Island
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Madeira Island (pron. IPA /mɐ.'ðɐj.ɾɐ/) is the largest island of the Madeira Islands archipelago, with 741 km ², has a length of 30 geographical miles (57 km), an extreme breadth of 13 miles (22 km), and a coastline of 80 or 90 miles. Its longer axis lies east and west, in which direction it is traversed by a mountain chain, the backbone of the island, having a mean altitude of 4000 feet, up to which many deep ravines penetrate from both coasts.
On the south there is very little left of the indigenous laurisilva forest which once clothed the whole island (until the original settlers decided to clear the land for farming by setting most of the island on fire) and gave it the name it bears (Madeira means "wood" in Portuguese), but on the north some of the valleys still contain native trees of fine growth. These laurisilva forests, notably the forests on the northern slopes of Madeira Island, are designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
A long narrow and comparatively low rocky promontory forms the eastern extremity of the island, and here there is to be seen a tract of calcareous sand, known as the Fossil Bed, containg land shells and numerous bodies resembling the roots of trees, probably produced by infiltration.
Its geographical position and mountainous landscape permit a very pleasing climate. Temperatures are about 22 degrees Celsius in the summer and circa 16 degrees Celsius during the winter. With its mild humidity, the weather of the Island is classified has subtropical. Influenced by the Gulf Stream, sea water temperature is 22 degrees Celsius during the summer and 16 in the winter. The islands are of volcanic origin.
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