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People also ask
Is Corsica a mountain?
How many peaks does Corsica have?
Why is Corsica a giant mountain surrounded by the sea?
What is Corsica like?
Why is Corsica so beautiful?
Does Corsica have more water than other Mediterranean islands?
Corsica is very mountainous, with Monte Cinto as the highest peak at 2,706 m (8,878 ft), and around 120 other summits of more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Mountains comprise two-thirds of the island, forming a single chain. Forests make up 20% of the island.
- Overview
- Geography
- History
French is the official language of Corsica and is spoken virtually by all Corsicans.
Which country is Corsica part of?
Corsica is a territorial collectivity of France and an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 105 miles (170 km) from southern France and 56 miles (90 km) from northwestern Italy, and it is separated from Sardinia by the 7-mile (11-km) Strait of Bonifacio.
What is the capital of Corsica?
Ajaccio is the capital of Corsica. The original settlement of Ajax was founded by the Romans 2 miles (3 km) north of the present site, to which the town was moved by the Genoese in 1492.
How long have humans inhabited Corsica?
For the most part, the terrain of Corsica is mountainous. About two-thirds of it consists of an ancient crystalline massif that divides the island on a northwest-to-southeast axis. Corsica has a cluster of 20 peaks exceeding 6,500 feet (2,000 metres). Mount Cinto attains an elevation of 8,890 feet (2,710 metres). The mountain silhouettes are very dramatic, and their granite rocks display vivid colours. The mountains descend steeply in parallel ranges to the west, where the coast is cut into steep gulfs and marked by high cliffs and headlands. To the east the mountain massif falls in broken escarpments to extensive alluvial plains bordering a lagoon-indented coast. In the northeast a separate and less-spectacular mountain formation reaches heights not exceeding 5,790 feet (1,765 metres).
Britannica Quiz
Islands and Archipelagos
Both the eastern and western watersheds are drained by seasonally torrential rivers that rise in the mountainous centre and cleave their way through impressive gorges in their upper reaches. The island’s principal rivers are the Golo, Tavignano, Liamone, Granove, Tarova, and Profiano. A Mediterranean climate prevails on the coasts, where the average temperature is 51 °F (10.5 °C) in winter and 60 °F (15.5 °C) during the rest of the year. It is cooler at higher elevations. The average summer temperature at the southern coastal city of Ajaccio is 70 °F (21 °C). Precipitation is abundant, averaging 35 inches (880 mm) a year, though higher elevations receive somewhat more.
Corsica’s vegetation is luxuriant. Much of the island is covered with a scrubby underbrush, or maquis, that is composed of aromatic shrubs, together with holm oak and cork oak in the south. The flowers of the maquis produce a fragrance that carries far out to sea and has earned for Corsica the name the “Scented Isle.” Chestnut forests occur at slightly higher elevations, while the Corsican, or laricio, pine (Pinus corsicanus) dominates the higher elevations. In all, forests cover about one-fifth of the island.
Bastia and Ajaccio, on the coast, are the largest towns and home to about half of the island’s population. In the early 21st century some four-fifths of Corsica’s population was urban. In northern Corsica the Balagne (once called the “Garden of Corsica”) is also densely populated. In contrast, sparsely populated rural villages, mostly situated at elevations between 650 and 2,600 feet (200 and 800 metres), have experienced much migration to the coast and to continental France. Despite a long history of emigration, there is overall growth in population, though many of the newcomers are retirees, which has led to a progressive aging of the population.
Remains of human occupation dating from at least the 3rd millennium bce are evident in the many dolmens, menhirs, and other megalithic monuments that still stand on the island. The recorded history of Corsica begins about 560 bce, when Greeks from Phocaea in Asia Minor founded the town of Alalia on the east coast. Carthaginian domination followed in the early 3rd century bce, until the whole of the island was conquered by the Romans in a series of campaigns from 259 to 163 bce. Together with Sardinia, Corsica formed a province of the Roman Empire, under which the island’s economy flourished. The Romans also implanted their language, which became the foundation of the present-day Corsican dialect.
A series of invasions and partial occupations by the Vandals, Lombards, and Arabs followed between 450 and 1050 ce, during which time the island’s towns were destroyed, their inhabitants driven inland, and the coastal agricultural lands abandoned. The Byzantine Empire’s nominal suzerainty over Corsica from the mid-6th century was followed by the titular rule of the papacy from the mid-8th century onward.
In 1077 the bishop of Pisa was entrusted by the papacy with the administration of Corsica, and over the next two centuries more than 300 churches were built in Corsica under the Pisans’ direction. Corsica then became a bone of contention between Pisa and Genoa (until 1284) and between Genoa and Aragon (from 1297 to 1434). Bitter struggles between the Genoese and Corsica’s native feudal aristocracy further decimated the population in the period 1434–53, after which Genoa was able to reassert its authority. A brief French occupation (1553–59) and a Corsican nationalist rebellion led by Sampiero Corso ended (1567) in renewed Genoese rule that lasted until 1729. Genoese rule, though by no means the worst in the island’s history, was notorious for its corrupt administration of justice, thereby encouraging Corsicans to resort to the private form of vengeance known as the vendetta.
A rebellion against Genoese rule in 1729 ushered in a period of turbulence and unrest that culminated in the establishment (1755) of a Corsican republic by the nationalist leader Pasquale Paoli. With Genoese control now confined to only a few coastal towns, Paoli organized the rest of Corsica as an independent democratic state and gave it a remarkably liberal constitution. During his 14 years of rule (until 1769), Paoli led the Corsicans in a great regenerative effort, repressing the vendetta, founding a university and printing press, and building a Corsican navy. In 1768, however, the despondent Genoese sold their rights on Corsica to France, and French troops subsequently invaded the island in overwhelming numbers.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Dec 15, 2022 · Corsica is essentially a giant mountain surrounded by the sea. Here are some facts about the Corsican mountains: It is a mountain range that cuts the island in 2; The average altitude is 568m; The mountains are higher in the northern part of the island; There is evidence that there were once glaciers on these mountains.
- It sports some of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean. Corsica has more than 1000 kilometres of coastline with granite headlands punctuated by a wide array of gorgeous beaches and aquamarine waters.
- It has some of Europe’s most dramatic mountains and one of the most spectacular long-distance walks on the continent. Corsica is mountainous (really mountainous) with jagged red rocks forming rugged cliffs and headlands, particularly in the west.
- It’s famous for its very own surf and turf cuisine. Corsica has a rich food culture that is tied both to the land and the sea. Inland, it’s all about lamb and veal stews, charcuterie, sausages and hams made from wild boar as well as a wide range of flavourful cheeses (try the ricotta-like brocciu) made from goats and sheep milk.
- It has delicious wines made from indigenous grape varieties you’ve never heard of. More than 30 different grape varieties are grown in nine AOC regions that cover more than 8000 hectares under vine.
Mar 11, 2021 · The island is often referred to as the “mountain in the sea” because of its mountainous nature. Most parts of Corsica’s terrain are mountainous. Close to two-thirds of its area consists of mountains, while forests cover 20%.
- John Misachi
The Corsica is a mountain. Its normal height of 568 m in truth the most astounding of the western Mediterranean islands. Numerous lakes and the presence of some valleys vouch for the past presence of ice sheets. Its coasts made out of more than a hundred islands, face us with an immense archipelago. write my assignment for me cheap
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean to the south-east of France, with a coast surrounded by beaches and a spectacular mountain interior. The departments in Corsica are Haute-Corse (to the north) and Corse-du-Sud (to the south).
