Filfla

for the commune of Algeria see Filfla, Algeria

Filfla is a small, barren, uninhabited islet 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. Filfoletta, a small rocky islet some 100 meters southwest of Filfla, has the southernmost point of Malta.

The name is believed to come from filfel, the Arabic for a peppercorn.

Filfla has an area of just 6 hectares (15 acres) and is a crumbling flat-topped limestone plateau surrounded by 60 metre high cliffs. The only known permanent structure on it was a chapel built inside a cave in 1343, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1856 that also sank part of the island.

Until 1971 the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force used the island for target practice. It became a bird reserve in 1980. Three species of sea birds breed on the islet: the European Storm Petrel (c.5,000 pairs), Cory's Shearwater (c.200 pairs) and Yellow-legged Gull (c.130pairs). A type of wall lizard (Podarcis filfolensis ssp. filfolensis) and door snail (Lampedusa imitatrix gattoi) are endemic to Filfla. A large wild leek, growing up to 2 m high, also occurs.

The Filfla Natural Reserve Act, enacted in 1988, provided for further restrictions on access and use, including a prohibition on fishing within a nautical mile (1.9 km) around the island due to the possibility of encountering unexploded ordnance. Access to Filfla is only possible for educational or scientific purposes and visitors must get prior permission from the Ministry responsible for the environment.

On the Maltese coast opposite Filfla are the archeological sites of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra, the Hamrija Tower (one of 13 watchtowers that Martin de Redin built around the coast of Malta), and a memorial to Walter Norris Congreve, one of Malta's British governors-general, who was buried at sea in the channel between the island and Malta.

See also

• Endemic Maltese wildlife