the island | the marine preserve | the depths | birdlife | excursions
length: approx. 6 km
width: approx. 0, 5 km
average height: 500 m
maximum height: 565 m (Punta Cannone)
Tavolara is a big limestone massif, a block of Mesozoic dolomite (a sedimentary rock), dating back to 225-65 millions of years ago. It rises from the sea up to 565 metres, between the coastal Gallura hills and granites shaped by the wind and covered by Mediterranean maquis.
Surrounded by big and small granite islands, (Molara and Molarotto especially catch the eye), it looks different depending on the observation point. It sometimes looks like a rock, other times like a peak.
Looking at it from Olbia, it stretches out in length, and from the south you can see an enormous white falaise sheer to the sea.
Tavolara has an almost rectangular outline; two low necks stretch from the shorter sides. At west Spalmatore di Terra stretches towards the coast. The granite basement, on which the limestone layer lays, surfaces in this point. On the opposite side Spalmatore di Fuori connects it to the thin Punta Timone promontory: a limestone neck that stretches towards the north-east.
