Filfla

Filfla is a small, barren, uninhabited islet 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. Filfoletta, a small rocky islet some 100 meters southwest of Filfla, has the southernmost point of Malta. The name is believed to come from filfel, the Arabic for a peppercorn.

Filfla has an area of just 6 hectares (15 acres) and is a crumbling flat-topped limestone plateau surrounded by 60 metre high cliffs. The only known permanent structure on it was a chapel built inside a cave in 1343, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1856 that also sank part of the island.

Until 1971 the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force used the island for target practice. It became a bird reserve in 1980. Three species of sea birds breed on the islet: the European Storm Petrel (c.5,000 pairs), Cory's Shearwater (c.200 pairs) and Yellow-legged Gull (c.130pairs). A type of wall lizard (Podarcis filfolensis ssp. filfolensis) and door snail (Lampedusa imitatrix gattoi) are endemic to Filfla. A large wild leek, growing up to 2 m high, also occurs.