Candidatura Reserva da Biosfera - Santana Madeira Biosfera

11. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
11.1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SITE CHARACTHERISTICS AND
TOPOGRAPHY OF AREA
Madeira Island is characterized by its mountainous relief with steep slopes. The
coastal area is almost entirely composed of steep sea cliffs and some Fajãs as a result of
the retreat of the coastline in result of oceanic abrasion. In the center of the island there
is a mountainous massif composed by several mountains with altitudes above 1600 m,
incised by numerous basaltic (sensu lato) dykes and veins. In the eastern part of the
massif, there is the extensive Paúl da Serra plateau, with an average altitude of 1550
meters. The link between coastal and central mountain massif is made up of several hills
and deep valleys, resulting from hydric weathering of bedrock, consequential from the
discharge of huge amount of water captured by the hydrogeological massif complex. This
geomorphological complexity results in a huge set of heterogeneous bio-climatic
characteristics that create conditions for the existence of a wide diversity of native
climatofilous vegetation and natural habitats found here.
The area circumscribed by the municipality of Santana includes part of the of the
island's northeast coast and the central mountainous massif, comprising the peak Pico
Ruivo de Santana, the highest peak in the archipelago with 1861 meters of altitude,
makes it a very rich area in terms of landscape and biodiversity, encompassing several
unique habitats, with emphasis on Mediterranean Barbusano laurel forest, the temperate
Madeira Mahogany laurel forest and high-altitude heaths. The coastal sea cliffs and
valleys of the large Faial and São Jorge streams contain numerous flora and scenic
values, where the endemic flora of the Macaronesian coasts is a supreme.
70 Application of Santana, Madeira to Biosphere Reserve – UNESCO - MAB