NASA describes Cyprus geology, wildlife and changing salt lake

NASA published its Earth Observatory feature on Cyprus on Thursday 05 November 2026. The agency said Cyprus began to form some 90 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous. Molten rock poured from the seafloor and built new oceanic crust. Tectonic forces later raised parts of that rock, creating an island of ophiolite. The agency said remnants remain in the dark rocks of the Troodos Mountains.

During the Miocene, layers of chalk, limestone, marl and other marine sedimentary rocks accumulated around the island. A later uplift created a second, smaller island to the south. River sediment and marine sediment formed deltas and two land bridges, or tombolos, that joined the islands. The joined landmass became the Akrotiri Peninsula, now Cyprus's southernmost tip.

Landsat 8 captured the peninsula's sandy edges on October 10, 2026. Akrotiri Salt Lake, a coastal lagoon that was once an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, lay between the two tombolos. The more westerly feature, the Kouris River tombolo, formed about 50,000 years ago from river-deposited gravels and sands. The eastern tombolo extended southward and cut off the Mediterranean Sea only within the past 2,000 years, according to geologists.

NASA said the lake's water levels varied markedly with the seasons. It typically filled in late autumn and winter and dried in summer. Winter water historically attracted sizable overwintering flamingo populations that averaged about 4,000 birds. The population declined in recent years and fell to 30 birds in 2025, according to news reports cited by the agency. The birds fed on fairy shrimp rich in carotenoids, which give flamingos their pink color.

Snakes were among the island's more notorious animal inhabitants. NASA said Cyprus was known in antiquity as Ophiousa, meaning land of snakes, likely because of a large population of blunt-nosed vipers. According to legend, snake populations became problematic during a drought in the fourth century. Roman Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, then called for shiploads of cats from Egypt to control the venomous reptiles.

The first feline imports were released in a snake-infested area in southeastern Akrotiri. The area became known as Cape Gata, or Cape Cat in Greek, and remained home to the Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas of the Cats. NASA said the nuns at the monastery cared for hundreds of cats. The agency reported that Cyprus had as many cats as people, with more than one million cats on the island.