Mallorca is the largest island of Spain, and as part of the Balearic Islands group it is located in the Mediterranean Sea. Like the other Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Formentera and Minorca the island is a popular tourist destination.
Mallorca has one quite large mountainous region called the Serra de Tramuntana in the north west of the island is home to the Puig Major the highest peak on the island at a height of 1,364 metres. Many of the islands best known beach resorts such as Pollensa at the north western tip of the island, and Alcudia its neighbour have this wonderful mountain range as their backdrop.
Palma is the islands capital city, and also it’s main port. It lies on the south coast of the island on the large coastal Bay of Palma in the western Mediterranean Sea and has a population of around 400,000 – this is approximately half of the island’s population. The land area of the city is around 21.3 kilometres square. Palma is bordered by various rocky inlets and marinas to its south side, and many of the tourist resorts of the island are towards the east of the city.
A fertile plain known as Es Pla covers most of the interior of Mallorca to the east of the Serra de Tramuntana. There is an abundance of underground water here which is pumped up by windmills (visible by airplane as you come in to land at the Palma Airport. This area of the island is mostly given over to farming and agriculture, and there are vast olive and almond groves to be found here.
Mallorca has two small islands off its coast, Cabrera to the south east of Palma, and Dragonera to the west of Palma. Cabrera was a military zone until the 1980’s, but is now a popular cruising destination and has its own museum and a 14th century castle, but is uninhabited. Dragonera is also uninhabited and is currently a national park.
