Madeira Island Location and Climate: The Madeira Archipelago is located in the Atlantic Ocean, in the African plate, 978 km south of Portugal, approximately 33 degrees north latitude, about 700 km west of the African coast, almost the same latitude as Casablanca and 450 km north of the Canary Islands, and has a total area of 796 km2.
Because of its volcanic origin, it has a very rugged landscape relief and never becomes monotonous, standing out in high mountains and deep valleys, where proliferation of different shades of green.
The Madeira Island mild climate is not a recent phenomenon. While the rest of Europe suffered from effects of the last glaciation, the island’s Atlantic location protected it from the most destructive temperatures. This made that in Madeira we can find a conserved forests of missing laurels of Europe.
The relief, as well as exposure to prevailing winds make the island with many micro-climates which, combined with the exotic vegetation, is an important attraction factor for the tourism industry.
Precipitation is highest in the north shore than on the south coast. There are large temperature variations throughout the year keeping the mild climate.
The island mild climate is conducive to agriculture and allows the fruit trees of the Mediterranean countries to grow alongside tropical species such as guava, banana and mango, among others.
The same with the flowers. Everywhere the exotic flowers like strelitzias, orchids and anthuriums, mingle with common species such as hollyhocks, hydrangeas and hibiscus, dotting the landscape with a multitude of colors, leaving in the air a pleasant scent.