View source for Geography of Cyprus

{{Short description|none}}

{{Infobox islands
| name               = Cyprus
| image_name         = Cyprus sentinel2.jpg
| image_caption      = Satellite image of Cyprus in 2022
| map_image          = Island of Cyprus (orthographic projection).svg
| map_caption        = Location of Cyprus
| local_name         = {{hlist|{{native name|el|Κύπρος|italics=no}}|{{native name|tr|Kıbrıs}}}}
| native_name_link   = 
| nickname           = 
| location           = [[Mediterranean Sea]]
| coordinates        = <div>{{Coord|34|N|33|E|scale:250000|display=inline,title}}</div>
{{Infobox|child = yes
| rowclass1 = mergedrow
| label1 = Largest city
| data1 = [[Nicosia]]
}}
| archipelago        = 
| total_islands      = 
| major_islands      = 
| area_km2           = 9,251
| length_km          = 
| width_km           = 
| coastline_km       = 648
| highest_mount      = [[Mount Olympus (Cyprus)|Mount Olympus]]
| elevation_m        = 1,952
| country            = [[Cyprus|Republic of Cyprus]]
| country_capital_and_largest_city = [[Nicosia]]
| country_area_km2   = 5896
| country1           = [[Northern Cyprus|Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]]
| country1_capital_and_largest_city = [[North Nicosia]]
| country1_area_km2  = 3,355
| country2           = [[Akrotiri and Dhekelia|Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia]]<br />{{nobold|([[British Overseas Territories|British Overseas Territory]])}}
| country2_capital_and_largest_city = [[Episkopi Cantonment]]
| country2_capital_type = settlement
| country2_area_km2  = 254
| population         = 1,326,108
| population_as_of   = 2025
| density_km2        = 138
|languages = {{hlist|[[Modern Greek language|Greek]] ([[Cypriot Greek]])|[[Turkish language|Turkish]] ([[Cypriot Turkish]])|[[Cypriot Arabic]]|[[English language|English]]|[[Armenian language|Armenian]]|[[Kurbet language|Kurbet]]|[[Cypriot Sign Language|Cypriot Sign]]}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{hlist|[[Greek Cypriots]]|[[Turkish Cypriots]] ([[Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus|Turkish settlers]])|[[Armenian Cypriots]]| [[Lebanese Cypriots]]|[[Indians in Cyprus|Indians]]|[[Romani people in Cyprus|Romani]]|[[British people|British]]|[[History of the Jews in Cyprus|Jews]]}}
|population_rank = 51st
|timezone1 = [[Eastern European Time]]
|utc_offset1 = +2
|timezone1_DST=[[Eastern European Summer Time]]
|utc_offset1_DST=+3
}}

'''Cyprus''' is an island in the Eastern Basin of the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. It is the [[List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area|third-largest island]] in the Mediterranean, after the [[Italy|Italian]] islands of [[Sicily]] and [[Sardinia]], and the [[list of islands by area|80th-largest island]] in the world by area. It is located south of the [[Anatolia|Anatolian Peninsula]], yet it belongs to the [[Cyprus Arc]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://faculty.fiu.edu/~swdowins/research-eastmed.html|title=Shimon Wdowinski: Research: Eastern Mediterranean|website=faculty.fiu.edu}}</ref> Geographically, Cyprus is located in [[West Asia]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/|title=UNSD — Methodology|website=unstats.un.org}}</ref> but the country is considered a European country in [[political geography]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cyprus/|title=Cyprus|date=June 10, 2025|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|via=CIA.gov}}</ref> Cyprus also had lengthy periods of mainly [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and intermittent [[Anatolian peoples|Anatolian]], [[Levant|Levantine]], [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]], and [[Western Europe]]an influence.

The island is dominated by two mountain ranges, the [[Troodos Mountains]] and the [[Kyrenia Mountains]] or Pentadaktylos, and the central plain, the [[Mesaoria]], between them.<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia|editor-last=Solsten, Eric|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/92036090/|title=Cyprus: a country study|date=1993|publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]]|isbn=0-8444-0752-6|edition=4th|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=50–53|oclc=27014039|postscript=. {{PD-notice}}}}</ref> The Troodos Mountains cover most of the southern and western portions of the island and account for roughly half its area.<ref name=":0" /> The narrow [[Kyrenia Mountains|Kyrenia Range]] extends along the northern coastline.<ref name=":0" /> It is not as high as the Troodos Mountains, and it occupies substantially less area.<ref name=":0" /> The two mountain ranges run generally parallel to the [[Taurus Mountains]] on the Turkish mainland, the outlines of which are visible from northern Cyprus.<ref name=":0" /> Coastal lowlands, varying in width, surround the island.<ref name=":0" />

[[Geopolitics|Geopolitically]], the island is divided into four segments. The [[Cyprus|Republic of Cyprus]], the only internationally recognized government, occupies the southern 60% of the island, and has been a [[member state of the European Union]] since 1 May 2004. The [[Northern Cyprus|Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]], diplomatically recognized only by Turkey, governs the northern third of the island, which is around 36% of the territory. The [[United Nations]]-controlled [[United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus|Green Line]] is a buffer zone that separates the two and it is about 4%. Lastly, two areas—[[Akrotiri and Dhekelia]]—remain under British sovereignty for military purposes, collectively forming the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA). The SBAs are located on the southern coast of the island and together encompass 254&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, or 2.8% of the island.<ref>{{cite | title=Cyprus–United Kingdom (Akrotiri and Dhekelia) Maritime Boundary / Sovereign Limits | url=https://sovereignlimits.com/boundaries/cyprus-united-kingdom-maritime | language=en-US | access-date=2025-07-22 }}</ref>

==Terrain==
[[File:Geology of Cyprus-SkiriotissaMine.jpg|thumb|left|[[Skouriotissa]] mine]]
[[File:CyprusFromTheISS(cropped).jpg|thumb|This image, photographed from the [[International Space Station]] in 2013, shows the three distinct geologic regions of the island. In the central and western part of the island is the Troodos Massif, a mountain range whose surface layer is mostly basaltic lava rock, and whose maximum elevation is {{convert|1952|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. Running in a thin arc along the northeast margin of the island is Cyprus's second mountain range, a limestone formation called the Kyrenia Range. The space between these ranges is home to the capital [[Nicosia]], visible as a grayish-brown patch near the image's centre.]]
[[File:Cyprus topo.png|thumb|Topography]]
[[File:Cyprus2022OSM.png|thumb|Detailed map of Cyprus]]
The rugged [[Troodos Mountains]], whose principal range stretches from Pomos Point in the northwest almost to Larnaca Bay on the east, are the single most conspicuous feature of the landscape.<ref name=":0" /> Intensive uplifting and folding in the formative period left the area highly fragmented, so that subordinate ranges and spurs veer off at many angles, their slopes incised by steep-sided valleys.<ref name=":0" /> In the southwest, the mountains descend in a series of stepped foothills to the coastal plain.<ref name=":0" />

While the Troodos Mountains are a massif formed of molten [[igneous rock]], the [[Kyrenia Range]] is a narrow [[limestone]] ridge that rises suddenly from the plains.<ref name=":0" /> Its easternmost extension becomes a series of foothills on the [[Karpas Peninsula]].<ref name=":0" /> That peninsula points toward Asia Minor, to which Cyprus belongs geologically.<ref name=":0" /> The Kyrenia Range is also known as the Pentadactylon Mountains, due to a summit resembling five fingers.

Even the highest peaks of the Kyrenia Range are hardly more than half the height of the great dome of the Troodos massif, [[Mount Olympus (Cyprus)|Mount Olympus]] ({{convert|1952|m|ft|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}),<ref name="Embassy climate">{{cite web|title = Country Profile: Climate|publisher = Official Website of the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington D.C.|url = http://www.cyprusembassy.net/home/index.php?module=page&pid=11|access-date = 2006-10-11|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205213337/http://www.cyprusembassy.net/home/index.php?module=page&pid=11|archive-date = 2012-02-05|url-status = dead}}</ref> but their seemingly inaccessible, jagged slopes make them considerably more spectacular.<ref name=":0" /> [[United Kingdom|British]] writer [[Lawrence Durrell]], in [[Bitter Lemons]], wrote of the Troodos as "an unlovely jumble of crags and heavyweight rocks" and of the Kyrenia Range as belonging to "the world of [[Gothic art|Gothic]] [[Europe]], its lofty crags studded with crusader castles."<ref name=":0" />

Rich copper deposits were discovered in antiquity on the slopes of the Troodos.<ref name=":0" /> The massive sulphide deposits formed as a part of an [[ophiolite]] complex at a [[Mid-ocean ridge|spreading centre]] under the Mediterranean Sea which was [[Tectonics|tectonically]] uplifted during the [[Pleistocene]] and emplaced in its current location.<ref>http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/gsd/gsd.nsf/dmlTroodos_en/dmlTroodos_en?OpenDocument {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118103052/http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/gsd/gsd.nsf/dmlTroodos_en/dmlTroodos_en?OpenDocument |date=2017-01-18 }} Cyprus Geologic Survey</ref>

==Drainage==
In much of the island, access to a year-round supply of water is difficult.<ref name=":0" /> This is traditionally attributed to deforestation which damaged the island's drainage system through erosion,<ref name=":0" /> but Grove and Rackham question this view.<ref>A.T. Grove, Oliver Rackham, ''The Nature of Mediterranean Europe: An Ecological History'', Yale, 2001.  {{ISBN|0-300-08443-9}}.</ref> A network of winter rivers rises in the Troodos Mountains and flows out from them in all directions.<ref name=":0" /> The Yialias River and the [[Pedieos|Pedhieos River]] flow eastward across the Mesaoria into Famagusta Bay; the Serraghis River flows northwest through the [[Güzelyurt (Northern Cyprus)|Morphou]] plain.<ref name=":0" /> All of the island's rivers, however, are dry in the summer.<ref name=":0" /> An extensive system of dams and waterways has been constructed to bring water to farming areas.<ref name=":0" />

The central Mesaoria plain is the agricultural heartland of the island, but its productiveness for wheat and barley depends very much on winter rainfall; other crops are grown under irrigation.<ref name=":0" />This broad, central plain, open to the sea at either end, was once covered with rich forests. However, the timber was needed by ancient conquerors for their sailing vessels, so little evidence of the woodland remains .<ref name=":0" /> The now-divided capital of the island, [[Nicosia]], lies in the middle of this central plain.<ref name=":0" />

== Natural vegetation ==
[[File:Cyprus countryside on the way to Troodos Mountains in the late summer Republic of Cyprus.jpg|thumb|left|Cyprus countryside on the way to Troodos Mountains during the summer]]
Despite its small size, Cyprus has a variety of natural vegetation. This includes forests of conifers and broadleaved trees such as [[pine]] (''[[Pinus brutia]]''), [[Cedrus|cedar]], [[cypress]]es, and [[oak]]s. Ancient authors write that most of Cyprus, even Messaoria, was heavily forested, and there are still considerable forests on the Troodos and Kyrenia ranges, and locally at lower altitudes. About 12% of the whole island is classified as woodland. Where there is no forest, tall shrub communities of golden oak (''[[Quercus alnifolia]]''), strawberry tree (''[[Arbutus andrachne]]''), terebinth (''[[Terebinth|Pistacia terebinthus]]''), olive (''[[Olive|Olea europaea]]''), kermes oak (''[[Quercus coccifera]]''), and styrax (''[[Styrax officinalis]]'') are found, but such [[Maquis shrubland|maquis]] is uncommon. Over most of the island untilled ground bears a grazed covering of [[garrigue]], largely composed of low bushes of [[Cistus]], ''[[Genista|Genista sphacelata]]'', ''[[Calicotome villosa]]'', ''Lithospermum hispidulum'', ''[[Phagnalon|Phagnalon rupestre]],'' and, locally, ''[[Pistacia lentiscus]]''. Where grazing is excessive this covering is soon reduced, and an impoverished [[Garrigue|batha]] remains, consisting principally of ''[[Thymus capitatus]]'', ''[[Sarcopoterium|Sarcopoterium spinosum]]'', and a few stunted herbs.

==Climate==
{{Main|Climate of Cyprus}}

[[File:Cyprus.A2002292.1045.500m.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Dust storm|Sandstorm]] in the [[Levant]], October 19, 2002]]
The intense [[Mediterranean climate]], warm and rather dry, with rainfall mainly between November and March, favours agriculture.<ref name=":0" /> In general, the island experiences extremely mild wet winters and dry hot summers.<ref name=":0" /> Variations in temperature and rainfall are governed by altitude and, to a lesser extent, distance from the coast.<ref name=":0" /> Hot, dry summers from mid-May to mid-September and rainy, rather changeable winters from November to mid-March are separated by short autumn and spring seasons.

==Area and boundaries==

'''Area:'''
<br />''Total:''
9,251&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (of which {{convert|5896|km²|0|abbr=on}} are under the control of the [[Cyprus|Republic of Cyprus]] and of which {{convert|3355|km²|0|abbr=on}} are under the administration of the [[Northern Cyprus|Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]])
<br />''Land:''
9,241&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>
<br />''Water:''
10&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>

'''Land boundaries:'''
0&nbsp;km

'''Coastline:'''
648&nbsp;km

'''Maritime claims:'''
<br />''Territorial sea:''
{{convert|12|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on|lk=in}}
<br />''Continental shelf:''
200&nbsp;m depth or to the depth of exploitation
<br />''[[Exclusive economic zone|Exclusive Economic Zone]]:''
{{convert|98,707|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}

'''Elevation extremes:'''
<br />''Lowest point:''
Mediterranean Sea 0&nbsp;m
<br />''Highest point:''
Olympus 1,952&nbsp;m<ref name="Embassy climate"/>

==Resource and land use==
'''Natural resources:'''
[[copper]], [[pyrite]], [[asbestos]], [[gypsum]], [[Lumber|timber]], [[salt]], [[marble]], [[Earth pigment|clay earth pigment]]

'''Land use:'''
<br />''arable land:''
9.90%
<br />''permanent crops:''
3.24%
<br />''other:''
86.86% (2012)

'''Irrigated land:'''
457.9&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (2007)

'''Total renewable water resources:'''
0.78&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup> (2011)

'''Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):'''
<br />''total:''
0.18&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup>/yr (10%/3%/86%)
<br />''per capital:''
164.7 m<sup>3</sup>/yr (2009)

<gallery>
File:Administrative map of Cyprus.jpg|Administrative map of Cyprus
File:Population map of Cyprus.jpg|Population map of the Republic of Cyprus
File:Cyprus density.jpg|Population density map of the Republic of Cyprus
File:Cyprus administrative.jpg|Municipalities and communities map of Cyprus
File:Cyprus districts.jpg|District map of Cyprus
File:Ethnographic distribution in Cyprus 1960.jpg|Population distribution of Cyprus in 1960
</gallery>

==Environmental concerns==
'''Natural hazards:'''
moderate [[earthquake]] activity; [[drought]]s

'''Environment – current issues:'''
[[water]] resource problems (no natural [[reservoir]] catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, [[Saltwater intrusion|sea water intrusion]] to island's largest [[aquifer]], increased [[Soil salinity|salination]] in the north); water pollution from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife habitats from [[urbanization]].

'''Environment – international agreements:'''
<br />''party to:''
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, [[Biodiversity]], Climate Change, Climate Change-[[Kyoto Protocol]], Endangered Species, [[Environmental Modification Convention|Environmental Modification]], Hazardous Wastes, [[Law of the sea|Law of the Sea]], Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
<br />''signed, but not ratified:'' none

==See also==
*[[Geology of Cyprus]]
*[[List of Cyprus islets]]
*[[List of dams and reservoirs in Cyprus]]
*[[List of rivers of Cyprus]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{commons category|Geography of Cyprus}}
{{Wikivoyage|Cyprus (island)}}
*[http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/cyphome/govhome.nsf/LookupIDs/300D6935EC884FBCC2256A71003972F4?OpenDocument&languageNo=1 Official Cyprus Government Web Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508182012/http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/cyphome/govhome.nsf/LookupIDs/300D6935EC884FBCC2256A71003972F4?OpenDocument&languageNo=1 |date=2006-05-08 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041217052134/http://www.greekembassy.org/Embassy/content/en/Article.aspx?office=1&folder=44&article=86 Embassy of Greece, USA – Cyprus: Geographical and Historical Background]
'''Attribution:'''
*{{CIA World Factbook|article=Cyprus |access-date=25 September 2022}}

{{Cyprus topics}}
{{Geography of Europe}}
{{Geography of Asia}}

[[Category:Geography of Cyprus| ]]