MarkB_MI
Well-known Member
- Location
- Motown USA
The island of Madeira grows a lot of fruit, particularly bananas. In the first picture below, pretty much everything that's green is a banana tree.
The problem is that although growing conditions are best on the south side of Madeira, most of the rain falls on the north. Over several centuries, the Madeirans built a complex system of canals called "levadas" that capture runoff from the north side of the island and bring it south. There are over 1300 miles of levadas on Madiera, an island of less than 300 square miles.
The levadas pass through spectacular scenery, so many are popular hiking trails, such as the one we hiked in the pictures below.
You can read a bit more about the levadas <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levada">here</a>.
The problem is that although growing conditions are best on the south side of Madeira, most of the rain falls on the north. Over several centuries, the Madeirans built a complex system of canals called "levadas" that capture runoff from the north side of the island and bring it south. There are over 1300 miles of levadas on Madiera, an island of less than 300 square miles.
The levadas pass through spectacular scenery, so many are popular hiking trails, such as the one we hiked in the pictures below.
You can read a bit more about the levadas <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levada">here</a>.
