Formentera's geography is essentially made up of rocks and sandy areas. Due to this fact and also due to the rain shortage, both in summer and winter, the soil of Formentera is almost absolutely permeable. Therefore, the island is characterized by dry and limited vegetation in some areas.
Flora: There are various important species that stand out, which we can see wherever we go:
Pines (Pinus halepensis) are the biggest trees in Formentera, althought they are not the most abundant ones. It is in La Sabina where there are numerous trees, Juniperus Phoenicea, an emblematic symbol which in past times and, surprisingly, still in current days is being greatly used in architecture for constructing houses and mills, as well as for sporadic manufactures of traditional decorative objects.
The rest of existing and significant flora in Formentera belongs to those families of bush and small forest grass. Most important bushes to state are rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), thyme (coridothy capitatus), sprigs (piscacia lenticus), juniper (juniperus oxycedrus) and white steppe or cistus albidus, apart from other not so important bushes.
La Savina, el árbol más emblemático de las Pitiusas.
When we leave rocky areas and forests, the rest of the island is made up of dunes and sandy areas where there is also a great variety of plant species among which we can bring out the esteperol (cistus chusii), the botja (ononis natrix), the carritx (ammophila arenari), etc. Finally, we can visit damper areas like S'Estant Pudent, where jonc and solseras grow, among other species of canes, stalks and weeds which are very usual in swampy areas.
On the other hand, there are those plants considered as cultivation species, which are of great importance in the island, both for the islanders and for domestic trade. Among others, we can bring out how successfully has the fig tree (ficus carica) adapted itself. It is a deciduous leaf tree with somehow convoluted shape. There is also the almond tree, the tomato, the potato, among other cereals and non native fruits, which have, nevertheless, adapted themselves to the dry and hot weather of Formentera.
Fauna: There are three main groups of fauna that can be distinguished: earth species, marine species and birds. Main earth species are: the rabbit, the hedgehog, the rat and the wall lizard, among several species of spiders and other insects. The wall lizard (podarcis esp) is the most characteristic species in Formentera and also one of the most abundant. The wall lizards in Formentera are green, but, if you have the opportunity to visit the small islands of the archipelago, you will also find brown and blue wall lizards. Nevertheless, in every single area of Formentera, due to its maritime isolation, several types of wall lizard developed species -with more exotic tonalities, like yellow- can be observed. Another species, this one introduced by the human being, perhaps without intention to do so, is a kind of gecko, the salamandra, with two different subtypes of this species living in Formentera, the torentola mauritánica and the hemidactylus turcicus, both well-known in the island and called by the nickname "dragons". This species is less abundant but, nevertheless, can be easily found if we visit certain areas of the island. Finally, there are some insectivorous species in Formentera that can be found and studied. Among these species, the hedgehog (erinaceus algirus esp vagans) stands out and abounds in the island. This species is especially visible at night, because it is an animal of night habits. There are also two other insectivorous species: rats and dormices. This last species is commonly known in the island as "coa white rat".
Another nocturnal species that is easily seen when you raise your eyes to the sky is the bat, very abundant in the past but suffering a remarkable descent in existing number of examples in the last years. The same happens to the owl, which suffers subsistence problems due to the reduced number of existing examples thereof. Lastly, talking about the fauna branch which studies birds, it is a verified fact that Formentera is home to, at least, 41 different bird species, the majority of which can be found in the area of S'Estany Pudent. This area gathers almost perfect conditions for being natural habitat for a great number of birds that live and nest at the Balearic archipelago. The pond, with an extension of 3,4 square kilometers and a maximum depth of 2 meters at its central point, is the most important ornithological area in Formentera.
Ejemplar de gaviota en pleno vuelo.
If we focus on this specific area, the following birds -both autochtonous species and birds of passage- can be classified:
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