The Balearic Islands comprise 151 islands and islets (counting all of those of more than 100 m in maximum length) with a total area of 5,061.3 km2 and a coastline length of 1,238.9 km. The four inhabited islands, Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera, represent more than 99% of the total surface area. Ibiza and Formentera are close lying neighbours, and form the Pityusic sub-archipelago. The ancient Greeks called Mallorca and Minorca the Gymnasiae or the Balyares Islands, and Ibiza and Formentera the Pityusic Islands; later, the Romans referred to these four main islands and their outlining islets as the Balearics. Currently the name of Balearics is applied to the entire archipelago, and the name Pityusic to Ibiza and Formentera.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Brigand, L. (1991) Les îles en Méditerranée: Enjeux et perspectives. Economica–PlanBleu.
Council of Europe (1979) Council directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds. Official Journal of the European Communities L 103: 1–18.
Council of Europe (1992) Council directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. Official Journal of the European Communities L 206: 7–50.
Fernández, J. and Pradas Regel, R. (1996) Los Parques Nacionales Españoles. Colección Parques Nacionales. Ed. Organismo Autónomo–Parques Nacionales. Madrid, pp. 482.
Forman, R.T.T. and Godron, M. (1986) Landscape Ecology. Wiley: New York.
Green, B. and Vos, W. (eds.) (2001) Threatened landscapes. Conserving Cultural Environments. Spon Press: London.
Grove, A.T. and Rackham, O. (2001) The nature of the Mediterranean Europe. An Ecological History. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT, 384 pp.
Hemmer, H. and Alcover, J.A. (1984) Història biològica del ferreret (Life history of the Mallorcan midwife toad), Ed. Moll, Palma de Mallorca (Spain).
Hsu, K.J., Ryan, W.B.F. and Cita, M.B. (1973) Late Miocene desiccation of the Mediterranean. Nature 242(5395): 240–244.
Lucas, P.H.C. (1992) Protected Landscapes: A Guide for Policy-makers. Chapman & Hall: London.
Marín, C., Luengo, A., Morey, M. and Hernández, E. (1994) El Jardín de la Sal. UNESCO-MAB, Ecotopía Eds., Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain), 247 pp.
Mata Olmo, R. and Sanz Herráiz, C. (eds.) (2003) Atlas de los Paisajes de España. Secretaría General Técnica. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
Mayol, J. and Machado, A. (1992) Medi Ambient, Ecologia I Turisme a les Illes Baleares., Manuals d’Introducció a la Naturalesa, 10. Ed. Moll. Palma, 127 pp.
Morey, M. (1987) Espacios Naturales de Baleares. Evaluación de 73 áreas para su protección. Govern Balear-INESE, Palma de Mallorca, 208 pp.
Morey, M. (1989) Análisis crítico del desarrollo de las Islas Baleares (España). In: Instituto Nacional de Investigaçao Científica (ed.). O Algarve na Perspectiva da Antropologia Ecológica, Instituto Nacional de Investigaçao Científica, Lisboa, pp. 383–400.
Morey, M. (1994) Ancient Mediterranean cultural landscapes. Landscape Issues 11(1): 13–17.
Morey, M. (2001) Balearic Landscapes. In: B. Green and W. Vos (eds.) Threatened Landscapes. Conserving cultural Environments. Spon Press, London, 86 pp.
Morey, M. (2003) Comparación del desarrollo del turismo de masas con el de las poblaciones animales. El caso de las Islas Baleares. Territori, Turisme i Medi Ambient 1: 5–18.
Morey, M. (2004) Turismo y medio natural en las Baleares. Una relación difícil y de futuro incierto. In: M. Castelló and F. Sastre (eds.) Espais naturals protegits, el paper de la propietat privada. INESE: Palma de Mallorca, 239 pp.
Morey, M. and Martínez-Taberner, A. (2000) Environmental conservancy strategies in the Mediterranean Islands. In: L. Trabaud (ed.) Life and Environment in the Mediterranean. WIT Press: South Hampton, NH, pp. 345–386.
Seguí Llinàs, M. (1995) Les nouvelles Baléares. La rénovation d’un espace touristique mythique. Editions L’Harmattan: París, 232 pp.
Villanueva Aranguren, J.A. (ed.) (2002) Tercer Inventario Forestal Nacional 1997–2006. Illes Balears. Subdirección General de Montes, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente: Madrid, 336 pp.
Wong, P.P. (ed.) (1993) Tourism vs. Environment: The Case of Coastal Areas. Kluwer: Dordrecht, pp. 9–15.
Yll, E.-I., Perez-Obiol, R., Pantaleon-Cano, J. and Roure, J.M. (1997) Palynological evidence for climatic change and human activity during the Holocene on Minorca (Balearic Islands). Quaternary Research 48: 339–347.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science + Business Media B.V
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Morey, M., Ruiz-Pérez, M. (2008). The Balearic Islands. In: Vogiatzakis, I., Pungetti, G., Mannion, A.M. (eds) Mediterranean Island Landscapes. Landscape Series, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5064-0_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5064-0_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5063-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5064-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)