Sardinia Geography

Sardinia is not geologically Italian. It is a fragment of the old European continental plate that rotated away from what is now southern France around 20 million years ago, taking Corsica with it. That origin explains the island's shape, its rocks and much of its character.

Rock and relief

The oldest rocks are Palaeozoic granite and schist, and erosion over that timescale has left rounded, worn mountains rather than the sharp peaks of the Alps. The Gennargentu massif in the east-centre is the highest ground, reaching 1,834 m at Punta La Marmora. Around it the Supramonte is limestone laid over the older rock, riddled with caves, gorges and sinkholes — the Gola Su Gorropu is among the deepest canyons in Europe.

The one substantial lowland is the Campidano, a rift valley running north-west from Cagliari to Oristano, and it holds most of the island's agriculture.

Coast

Roughly 1,800 km of it, and it changes character completely by region. The north-east is weathered granite in coves and inlets; the west has long beaches, some of quartz grains rather than sand; the east is a limestone wall with beaches only reachable by boat; the south-west has dunes and old mining coast. Offshore lie the Maddalena archipelago, Asinara, San Pietro and Sant'Antioco.

Wind

The mistral (maestrale) blows from the north-west for a large part of the year, and it is a genuine shaping force: it bends the trees on the west coast, makes the island a major destination for sailing and windsurfing, and is one reason the west has fewer sheltered harbours.

Water and consequences

Rivers are seasonal, and the island depends on reservoirs — the Tirso and Flumendosa systems among them. Drought is recurring. Thin soils, reliable sun and wind favour sheep over cattle, which is why Sardinia has roughly three million sheep and why its cheeses, not its beef, are what it exports.