Malta Fieldwork

Malta is a popular fieldwork location with our students. All first year Geography and Environmental Management students at Liverpool Hope University have the opportunity to spend a week in Malta on fieldwork. Second and third year students and postgraduates can also undertake fieldwork in Malta.

- Students visiting the University of Malta

We have organised fieldtrips to Malta since 2003. The islands offer a fantastic opportunity to study a whole range of physical and human geography matters and the impacts and development of tourism. The natural resource management issues of the Maltese archipelago are of deep interest to those studying environmental management.

General background to Malta

The Maltese islands comprise a small state in the southern Mediterranean. A former British colony, the islands gained independence in 1964. Today the economy is predominantly based on tourism, ship building and repairs, and service sector industries. The country joined the European Union in 2004. Although the native language is Maltese, English is widely spoken on the islands.

– Maltese Flag

– Coastal and Sea View

Geology and geomorphology

The islands provide an interesting geological case study.  One of the aspects studied are the fault systems that have created the horst (elevated blocks) and graben (a depressed tract) landscape features, particularly evident in the northern part of Malta.

– Horst and Graben

– Active geomorphological processes

The physical features of the landscape are a strong determining factor in the nature and patterns of human use. For instance, Malta’s geology is predominantly limestone. This creates open, arid landscapes with limited potential for agriculture and with little surface drainage. Use and conservation of water supplies is a major issue considered during our fieldwork.

– Landscape of Malta

Coastal studies

Malta’s geology and coastal situation have produced a distinctive coastal geomorphology with many spectacular features including the impressive Dingli cliffs and the rias (drowned former river valleys) of the Grand Harbour at Valletta.  A favourite with our students is the natural sea arch at Dwerja visited on a day trip to the island of Gozo. This visit usually results in a group photograph  with the arch in the background.

– Group at Sea Arch

Malta has a series of small, and yet significant, sand dune ecosystems which are under intense recreational pressure. Students consider how conservation and tourism can be effectively managed at Ramla Bay sand dunes.

– Ramla Bay Dunes

Cultural geography

Cultural geography looks at the relationship between landscapes and identity. Malta illustrates how British colonial rule was accompanied by making an urban landscape in the image of Britain.  Since independence, the Maltese have been modifying the landscape so that it reflects a Maltese rather than a British identity.

– British influence in Malta

Tourism

Malta’s turbulent past means that it has a rich heritage to sell to tourists.  But this raises various issues about authenticity.  Is a fake heritage being constructed for tourists?  What sort of impacts does this have for Maltese identity.

– Heritage and identity in Malta

Tourism is vitally important to the Maltese economy (it accounts for 40% of Gross Domestic Product).  But it also has dramatic aesthetic and environmental impacts. One of the main themes of the fieldtrip is the sustainability of mass tourism developments.

– Tourism development on the coast in Malta