Gymnesian islands
| Gymnesian islands | ||
|---|---|---|
| Waters | Mediterranean Sea | |
| archipelago | Balearic Islands | |
| Geographical location | 39 ° 30 ′ N , 3 ° 30 ′ E | |
|
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| Number of islands | about 150 | |
| Main island | Mallorca | |
| Total land area | 4,337.7 km² | |
The Gymnesian Islands or Gymnesians (Catalan: Illes Gimnèsies [ʒimˈnɛziəs] or Illes Gimnèsiques ; Spanish: Islas Gimnesias [ximˈne̞siäs]) are an archipelago of the Balearic Islands , consisting of Mallorca , Menorca and Cabrera as well as numerous smaller and uninhabited rock islands. Only the islands of Mallorca, Menorca and Cabrera are permanently inhabited.
The Gymnesian Islands cover around 86.9 percent of the total area with around 85.4 percent of the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands.
geology
The approximately 150 islands of the Balearic archipelago were formed together around 100 million years ago during the so-called Alpid mountain formation. This is also responsible for many other mighty fold mountains in Europe such as the Alps or the Andalusian fold mountains. The latter, together with today's Balearic Islands, formed a mountain range that millions of years later was separated into the Spanish mainland and the archipelago by a deep sea trench.
etymology
" Gymnesian " (from ancient Greek γυμνήτες gymnetes) means "naked". The ancient Greeks recruited the inhabitants of these islands, the talayotes , as slingers . According to some researchers, this does not mean that they fought naked, but that they used much lighter armament than the hoplites .
administration
The Gymnesian Islands form part of the autonomous community of Illes Balears (Balearic Islands), which administratively unites all of the Balearic Islands.
language
As on all Balearic Islands, Catalan is spoken as the language of the locals .