Liguria

Liguria is a narrow strip of land between the Mediterranean sea, the Alps and the Apennine mountains and bordered by France to the west, Piedmont to the north, and Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany to the east. Its area is 5,416.03 square kilometers, representing 1.18% of the whole national area, with the following breakdown: 3524.08 kilometers of mountain (65% of total) and 891.95 kilometers squared hill (35% of total ).

Its shape is that of a thin strip of land, from 7 to 35 km wide (respectively above Voltri and in the area of high mountains around Imperia), about 240 km long, and lies in a semicircle around the Ligurian Sea, between the sea and the line of watershed of the Maritime Alps and the northern Apennines.

The continental shelf, which is very narrow, almost immediately goes to considerable sea depths. The coast is 315 km long. Except for the headlands of Portovenere and Portofino, generally the coast is not very rugged, and is often high and compact. At the mouths of larger rivers there are small beaches, but there are no deep bays and natural harbors, except those of Genoa and La Spezia.

The hydrographic system consists of short courses of water with torrential character. In the coastal part of the most important are Roja (in its lower reaches), the Nervia, and the Magra. In the interior region, however, there are several tributaries of the Po river: the two branches of Bormida, of Scribia and Trebbia, rivers with low flows, although in very wet periods are subject to frequent floods.

The hilly area, immediately behind the coast, together with the beneficial influence of the sea, gives the region a mild climate all year round (with average winter temperatures of 7/10° C and in summer of 23/24° C). The rainfall may be very abundant at times, the proximity of the mountains to the coast.

Despite the high population density, woods cover half of the total area and nature reserves cover approximately 60,000 hectares of land.