Mallorca’s Landscape
Mallorca’s landscape is characterized by the very different types of landscape. Rugged mountain ranges line up alongside the sea, and sit alongside valleys and plains that are primarily used as agricultural land. Wide stretches of beach and small bays sit beneath a backdrop of an undulating and mountainous landscape. The varying landscapes include the Serra de Tramuntana, Es Raiguer, Pla de Mallorca, Llevant, Migjorn and Palma. The most well-known is the Serra de Tramuntana, a 15-km long mountain range with 11 peaks running parallel to the northwest coast. The highest peak is the Puig Major with a height of 1,445 metres. Due to its unique landscape, the Serra de Tramuntana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Serra de Tramuntana
The Serra de Tramuntana is characterised by fertile valleys that are irrigated by water from the mountains and there are numerous orange and lemon groves, vineyards and vegetable plantations. The most famous villages are Soller, Estellencs, Banyalbufar, Deia, Valldemossa and in the north Pollenca as well as Calvia in the south west.
Mallorca bird’s eye view
Es Raiguer
In the south-east, the Zone Es Raiguer borders the Serra de Tramuntana zone. As a mountainous transition zone to the Pla de Mallorca, agriculture is difficult here and therefore less pronounced. Consequently, there are no major towns.
Pla de Mallorca
In the centre of the island is Pla de Mallorca and is the focal point of the island’s agriculture with vineyards and almond plantations as well as production of food for everyday needs such as potatoes, vegetables, rice and maize. In this region, protected by the mountains, there are up to four crops annually for some products. In addition to agriculture, the population in the north-east of Pla de Mallorca has a good income from tourism, especially in the towns of Alcudia and Can Picafort.
Llevant
The east or north-east region is known as Llevant. There is also a mountain range here called Serra de Llevant, but with peaks of only 500 metres . Cala Millor, Son Servera, Sa Coma and Cala Ratjada with their beautiful beaches, as well as the three natural caves of Coves del Drac, Coves del Hams and Coves d`Arta are also located in this area. The most important town in Llevant is Manacor, where the artificial pearl and furniture industry has developed vigorously.
Migjorn
The Migjorn area borders the Pla de Mallorca and the Llevant area and livelihoods here are based mainly around agriculture. A visit to Campos’ weekly market is worthwhile. The area of Llevant also includes the coastal strip where the small seaside resort of Colonia de Sant Jordi and the popular beach of Es Trenc are located. The municipality of Campos, however, has little economic benefit from its natural beauty, as building is not allowed on the 6 km long Es Trenc beach all attempts to build holiday resorts here have failed. Campos’ neighbouring communities, namely Llucmajor and Felanitx, fare better as the popular resorts of S’Arenal and Portocolom are located in their catchment area.
Palma
The last area is Palma, which is the capital of the island and the smallest of the 52 municipalities of Mallorca, but boasts the largest population with a total of 500,000 inhabitants. The capital of Palma is the undisputed economic and political centre of the island, with the Parliament headquarters, the Balearic government and the island council are located here.
