Magnificent Maderia... |
Madeira is a popular destination with tourists of many types. I like to explore and this is a place really worth exploring
The semi tropical climate means the plant life is spectacular and there is always something to see, but beneath the plant life is the incredible geology of lava flows and other volcanic deposits that are eroded into incredible mountains, valleys and cliffs and provide such a wonderful insight into the working of the earth
The Island is easy to get to from the UK, we were able to get a flight from our local airport in Cardiff, and hired a car to be able to stay in the mountains, which is a decision we were really glad we'd made
Once there it's a walkers, naturalists and geologist's paradise with easy access to incredible places to see and year round plant and animal interest because of it's sub tropical climate.
The series of pictures in this gallery show sequences of ash and lava deposits cut through by dykes and eroded into incredible cliffs and valleys. On the Northers coast the high cliffs are steep and weather beaten as that is the prevailing wind direction, On the south side the cliffs are barely if at all less spectacular, but they are at least a little more sheltered.
There are 2 types of underground passages in these photographs, Lava Tubes causes when the outer surfaces of flowing lava cool and the hot molten rocks in the interior keep running downhill. Eventually the Volcano that is feeding the flow runs out, but gravity can pull the remaining lava downhill and leave behind an empty tube. The other type of underground passages are made by man.
Levadas are water management channels running for literally miles around the island to get water from where the rain falls to where it is needed. For a walker these are wonderful as they are regularly maintained which means that they need paths along the sides of them. These paths are almost level and allow you to walk for miles in the mountains and get to some really incredible places. Given they are sometimes in extreme places and there are now a lot of visitors to some of them the authorities have been putting in place sturdy wire fencing as a safety measure, but you still need to be sure footed and have your wits about you
The pictures in this section are taken with my E-510 and E-500 Olympus cameras with a selection of lenses. The pictures from the Lava tubes and levada passages are lit with a single FL-36 flashgun.