Where on Earth? - July 2015

by The American Geosciences Institute
Wednesday, July 1, 2015

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Clues for July 2015:

  1. The peninsula seen here terminates at the easternmost point of a volcanic island, the largest of four in a small Atlantic archipelago. The portion of the island that is above water formed from lava that erupted in the Pliocene and Pleistocene.

  2. A roughly 7-kilometer-loop hike offers visitors to the peninsula spectacular views of colorful layers of basalt and pyroclastic deposits, as well as numerous cross-cutting volcanic dykes and small pinnacle islands called “leixões” that attest to the ocean’s prolific erosion of the island.

  3. Although its rugged terrain — featuring arresting cliffs and mountains topping out at 1,860 meters — is a big attraction, the island also draws tourists because of its inviting temperate climate, renowned gardens and the eponymously named wine produced on the island.

Name the island and the peninsula.

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Answer: Ponta de São Lourenço is the easternmost point of the Portuguese island of Madeira — famed for its renowned gardens and eponymous wine — which lies off the north African coast in the Atlantic. The rock of the peninsula is from Pliocene and Pleistocene volcanic eruptions. Photo is by Alan Reid. July Winners: Bettina Bradley (Moses Lake, Wash.) Ellen Herron (Chapel Hill, N.C.) Gerhard Kunze (Akron, Ohio) Vickie Robinson (Portland, Ore.) Rodney Sheets (Columbus, Ohio)

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EARTH also welcomes your photos to consider for the contest. Learn more about submitting photos here.


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