Malta, the Jewel of the Mediterranean
ASTER VNIR Level 1B : RGB=321 : 2001/7/29

 The Maltese Archipelago, consisting of Malta, Comino and Gozo Islands, is situated almost at the center of the Mediterranean. Miocene limestones cover the whole islands and the islands have only sparse vegetation as inferred from this ASTER false-color image.

 Malta boasts of a rich history dating back to the prehistorical Megalith Age of ca.5000BC. These very tiny islands (320 square km in total) had been a point of strategic importance in the central Mediterranean since Phoenician age (ca.800BC) until World War II. Malta was registered on the UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1980, and nowadays Malta is one of the most attractive resorts in the Mediterranean.