Italian Boot Peninsulas

Peninsula Week Post #6

ITALY is world famous for having a characteristic boot shape, and some of the credit goes to peninsulas around the southern part of the country! The peninsulas that help form Italy’s boot shape are Calabria, Gargano, and Salentina.

Calabria
Both a region and peninsula, this is the toe of the boot. Calabria is east of the large island Sicily (and the city of Messina on Sicily), the Aeolian Islands (Lipari Islands), and Tyrrhenian Sea. The peninsula is also east of Golfo di Taranto (Gulf of Taranto) and north and west of the Ionian Sea. Cities on the peninsula include Catanzaro, Melito de Porto Salvo, Palmi, Reggio di Calabria, and Taurianova.

Gargano
You can say that Italy has a spur on the right side of the boot! That spur is Gargano (also called Promontorio del Gargano), located southwest of the Adriatic Sea and north of Golfo di Manfredonia. The peninsula is mountainous and has lakes. The two most prominent lakes are Lago di Lesina and Lago di Varano, and communities on the peninsula include Manfredonia and Vieste.

Salentina Peninsula
Lastly, this peninsula forms the heel of the boot. It juts out into the water in a southeasterly direction. The peninsula is north of the Golfo di Taranto and Ionian Sea, while being south of the Adriatic Sea. The Strait of Otranto, separating Salentina from the country Albania, is east of the peninsula and forms the geographical ‘separation’ between Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Communities include Gallipoli, Lecce, and Taranto.

Another Post to Check Out: Italy

Masoala Peninsula

Peninsula Week Post #5

Located in Southern Africa, the Masoala Peninsula sticks out southward into the Indian Ocean. It is found on the eastern coast of MADAGASCAR, an island country located east of mainland Africa (specifically east of the countries Comoros and Mozambique) and east of the Mozambique Channel. The Masoala Peninsula is east of the Antongil Bay and less than 150 miles northeast of Analamaitso Plateau. Tanjon'i Masoala is at the tip of the peninsula. If you were wondering, tanjon'i and other variants like tanjona mean cape. Planning to learn Malagasy? You now know a word! Finally, communities on the peninsula include Ampanavoana and Vinanivao.

Another Post to Check Out: Madagascar

Musandam Peninsula

Peninsula Week Post #4

The Musandam Peninsula sticks out northward into the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, in the Middle East. This peninsula is interesting because it is basically an exclave of OMAN. This means that the peninsula is part of Oman, but geographically separated from the rest of the country because of the United Arab Emirates. The U.A.E. is a wealthy country located south of Musandam Peninsula. Standing at over 6,800 feet (over 2,000 meters), Jabal al Harim is the highest point in the peninsula's area. Communities on the peninsula include Al Khaşab, Kamzar, and Sha'am.

Other Posts to Check Out: Oman — United Arab Emirates

Minahasa Peninsula

Peninsula Week Post #3

The island of Celebes in INDONESIA has its share of peninsulas. The most remarkable peninsula, since it is extremely long and relatively thin, is Minahasa Peninsula. A vertical extension of the peninsula is attached to the northern part of the island. It then veers off to the right, and this part of the peninsula is almost 400 miles long. Minahasa Peninsula separates the Molucca Sea (southeast of the peninsula) from the Celebes Sea that is located north of the peninsula. Other surrounding bodies of water include Gulf of Tomini (south) and Makassar Strait (west). Cities located on Minahasa Peninsula include Atinggola, Bitung, Gorontalo, Manado, and Tondano.

Karpass Peninsula

Peninsula Week Post #2

Located at the northeast end of the island country CYPRUS is the Karpass Peninsula. It juts out into the Mediterranean Sea in a northeasterly direction. Cape Apostolos Andreas is at the northeastern tip of the peninsula. Communities on the peninsula include Rizokarpasso and Yalousa. Cyprus received independence in 1960, but Turkey now claims northern areas of Cyprus.

Cape of Good Hope

Peninsula Week Post #1

Being notorious as a dangerous peninsula for sailors and explorers to sail near, the Cape of Good Hope is a peninsula (land surrounded by water on three sides) in SOUTH AFRICA. It juts out into the Atlantic Ocean and is at the tip of the more generalized Cape Peninsula. The name of this peninsula is self-evident that seafarers need hope and luck to battle with oftentimes choppy waves and other obstacles! Valsbaai (False Bay) is to the right of Cape of Good Hope and left of Kaap Hangklip, another peninsula. South Africa's legislative capital, Cape Town, and communities like Grassy Park, Simonstown, and Vishoek are north of Cape of Good Hope.