Portugal's Nature Parks
Madeira - Portugal's autonomous island in the Atlantic Ocean, is closer to the African coast than to the mother country Portugal, from which it is separated by about 900 kilometers. The island's name comes from Portuguese sailors who claimed the uninhabited isle for themselves in 1419. Madeira means wood and that was available in abundance. Almost the entire surface was covered by dense forest. Since 1982, two-thirds of the landscape has been protected.