The Azure Window is a natural arch

Natural arch

A natural arch or natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually eroding out until...

 in the Maltese island

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 of Gozo

Gozo

Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...

 featuring a table-like rock over the sea. It is situated near two other famous natural landmarks - the Inland Sea

Inland Sea, Gozo

The Inland Sea, sometimes called Qawra in Maltese, is a lagoon of seawater on the island of Gozo linked to the Mediterranean Sea through an opening formed by a narrow natural arch....

, and Dwejra Bay. The stunning geography of the area was created thousands of years ago when two limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 caves collapsed. This and the nearby Blue Hole and Inland sea are popular scuba diving

Recreational diving

Recreational diving or sport diving is a type of diving that uses SCUBA equipment for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment. In some diving circles, the term "recreational diving" is used in contradistinction to "technical diving", a more demanding aspect of the sport which requires greater levels...

 sites.

Dwejra is a tourist village that belongs to the town of St. Lawrence

Saint Lawrence, Malta

Saint Lawrence is a village on the Isle of Gozo, Malta. Its name is derived from Lawrence of Rome who is the patron saint for the village. The natural reserve Fungus Rock is administratively part of the town, as is the famous Azure Window landmark....

, Gozo

Gozo

Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...

, Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

. Dwejra Bay is also part of San Lawrenz. The water of the bay is suitable for swimming, scuba diving

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

, and boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

.

The Azure Window has been featured in films, such as Clash of the Titans (1981)

Clash of the Titans (1981 film)

Clash of the Titans is an American 1981 fantasy–adventure film involving the Greek hero Perseus. It was released on June 12, 1981 and earned a gross profit of $41 million domestically, on a $15 million budget , by which it was the 11th highest grossing film of the year. A novelization of the film...

at the 104th minute and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002 film)

The Count of Monte Cristo is a 2002 adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. The film is the tenth adaptation of the book of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, père and stars Richard Harris, James Caviezel, Dagmara Dominczyk, Guy Pearce, and Luis Guzman...

at the 13th minute. It can also be seen in the television miniseries The Odyssey (1997)

The Odyssey (TV miniseries)

The Odyssey is a 1997 Emmy award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated American television miniseries. Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, the miniseries aired in two-parts beginning on May 18, 1997 on NBC. The series later won the award for "Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Special"...

, and HBO's TV series Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones (TV series)

Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...

. The filming of Game of Thrones resulted in controversy when a protected ecosystem was damaged by a subcontractor.

The Azure Window was recently measured by surveyor Noe Ardanaz of The University of Edinburgh. The height was given as 22.54m, slightly higher than the previous unofficial estimates of 18 to 20 metres.

Although illegal, the Azure Window is a popular cliff diving or tomb-stoning spot. Many videos on YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

feature people leaping from the middle, and side of the arch.

The arch of the Azure Window is disintegrating, as large pieces of rock keep falling from the arch. It is expected that the arch will completely disappear within just a few years. The arch is in a dangerous condition and warning notices are placed to stop people walking over the top of the arch. Evidence of this can be seen when the images of the Azure Window as shown in Clash of the Titans (1981) are compared to the more recent images shown in The Odyssey (1997) and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). The former images depict the Azure Window arch with a flat underside, whereas the latter images clearly show that a significant proportion the flat underside has since broken away.
Once the arch has completely crumbled away, the Azure Window shall be renamed Azure Pinnacle.