The Giara di Gesturi, , is a high and steep-sided basaltic plateau which extends for about 42 km² (16.2 sq mi) in the comuni of Gesturi

Gesturi

Gesturi is a comune in the Province of Medio Campidano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 60 km north of Cagliari and about 20 km northeast of Sanluri...

, Tuili

Tuili

Tuili is a comune in the Province of Medio Campidano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 60 km north of Cagliari and about 20 km northeast of Sanluri....

 and Setzu

Setzu

Setzu is a comune in the Province of Medio Campidano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 60 km northwest of Cagliari and about 15 km north of Sanluri. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 160 and an area of 7.8 km².Setzu borders the following municipalities:...

 in the province of Medio Campidano, and Genoni

Genoni

Genoni is a comune in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 70 km north of Cagliari and about 35 km southeast of Oristano...

 in the province of Oristano

Oristano

Oristano is a town and comune, capital of the Province of Oristano, on the island of Sardinia, Italy. It has approximately 32,500 inhabitants.Its economy is mainly based on fishing, agriculture and, to a certain extent, tourism.-History:...

, in the southern central part of the island of Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

, Italy.

The plateau was formed some 2.7 million years ago when lava from the cones of Zepparedda (609 m (1,998 ft)) and Zeppara Manna (580 m (1,902.9 ft)) covered older sedimentary rock. The average height of the plateau is approximately 550 m (1,804.5 ft); it is accessible in only a few places, known as scalas. Along the perimeter of the plateau are the remains of 23 Nuraghi; the Nuraghic complex of Su Nuraxi di Barumini

Su Nuraxi di Barumini

Su Nuraxi is a nuragic archaeological site in Barumini, Sardinia, Italy. It was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997 as Su Nuraxi di Barumini.Su Nuraxi simply means "the nuraghe" in Sardinian....

 is a few kilometres to the south.

The surface of the Giara di Gesturi has a number of shallow depressions, , some of which are deep enough to hold water year-round; the largest of these is the Pauli Maiori (not to be confused with the Ramsar-designated Stagno di Pauli Maiori near Oristano). The soil of the plateau is shallow, rarely exceeding 50 cm (19.7 in) in depth. The Giara di Gesturi is home to over 350 plant species, notably the Cork oak

Cork Oak

Quercus suber, commonly called the Cork Oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa.It grows to up to 20 m,...

, and to the majority of the surviving population of the Giara Horse.

The whole of the Giara di Gesturi lies within the Parco Regionale della Giara, which has a total area of 120 km² (46.3 sq mi).