Geography, Regions and Localities of the Maltese Islands
This domain checks that you can place Malta on the map, name the islands and their relative sizes, separate the statistical regions from the local councils, and recognise the main towns.
The archipelago
Malta is an island state in the central Mediterranean, roughly 90 km south of Sicily and about 290 km east of Tunisia. Three islands are inhabited: Malta (about 246 km²), Gozo (about 67 km²) and Comino (about 3 km²), giving a total land area of around 316 km². Filfla, Fungus Rock and St Paul's Islets are uninhabited. The terrain is karst limestone with terraced fields, dry-stone walls and no permanent rivers; the highest point, Ta' Dmejrek on the Dingli plateau, reaches only 253 m. Valletta is the capital and Mdina the old capital, while Birkirkara is the largest locality by population.
Regions and councils
For statistical purposes Malta is divided into six regions: Northern, Northern Harbour, Southern Harbour, South Eastern, Western, and Gozo (which includes Comino). Local government runs through 68 local councils, 54 on Malta and 14 on Gozo, each with a mayor and elected every five years.
Worked example
Question: in which region does Valletta lie? Reason it out: Valletta occupies the peninsula between the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Creek; the harbour regions are defined by the Grand Harbour, and Valletta sits on its southern shore. The answer is the Southern Harbour Region, not the Northern Harbour Region, which covers Sliema, Gżira and St Julian's.
Traps that cost marks
Equating the capital with the largest town; treating Comino as uninhabited; confusing the six statistical regions with the 68 local councils; forgetting that Gozo is a region in its own right rather than a district of Malta.