The island that is second in size after Sicily in the Mediterranean, Sardinia belongs to the country of Italy, and has autonomy as a region. The total area occupied by Sardinia is 24,090 sq. km. The land masses that are closest to Sardinia are the Italian Peninsula, Corsica, the Balearic Islands and Tunisia. The location of the island is set between 8° 8′ and 9° 50′ east longitude and 38° 51′ and 41° 15′ north latitude. It has a total coast line of 1,849 km, which is rocky and usually high, with plenty of deep and wide bays, with small islands in its vicinity.
Sardinia’s territory is not seismic and it has a very old past, so there aren’t any mountains, thanks to the process of erosion that was long.
The biggest mountain on the island is Gennargenty, which is located at the island’s center. The highest point has 1,834 m and it’s called Punta La Marmora. A few other mountain ranges with a considerable height are Monte Albo at 1057 m, Goceano and Marghine at 1259 m and Monte Limbara at 1362 m.
The rivers of Sardinia are Coghinas (flows for 115 km), Tirso (flows for 151 km) and Flumendosa (flows for 127 km). All in all, Sardinia has 54 dams and artificial lakes, which are used for electricity and water supply. The main lakes are Lake Coghinas and Lake Omodeo. Baratz Lake is the only freshwater lake that is natural. There are also a number of lagoons and salty lakes along the coast of the island.
The island has a Mediterranean climate and a clear weather. For the most part of the year, the island has sunny days (over 300 days per year). Most of the rainy days appear in the autumn and the winter, with heavy showers sometimes during the spring season. The regular wind is the mistral, which is strong, fresh, but also cold and dry. It blows from the north west all year long, but usually in spring and winter.
Photo credit: ezioman on Flickr