called Ilva by the Romans, and Ethalia by the Greeks, an island in the Mediterranean Sea lying off the promontory of Populonium, at about equal distances from Corsica and the Italian mainland, though somewhat nearer the latter. Its outline is extremely irregular, and its sides are indented by numerous inlets and arms of the sea, reducing its breadth in some places to about 3 miles. The extreme length of the island is about 18 miles; its extreme breadth about 12 miles; and its area about 150 miles. The whole length of the island is occupied by a mountain range, one peak of which (that of Capanna) rises to the height of about 3500 feet above the sea. The mountains of this range, though themselves barren, inclose valleys of considerable fertility. Vines, olives, and mulberries, grow in large quantities in the island, which also produces wheat, Indian corn, and vegetables in abundance. Some of the wine produced in Elba is of excellent quality, and a considerable quantity of it is annually exported. The smaller domestic animals thrive well and are very numerous in the island; but the larger kinds, such as oxen and horses, are somewhat scarce. The fisheries off the coast are important.

The iron mines of Elba in modern as in ancient times are extremely valuable. The great facility with which the metal is worked, and the abundance in which it is found, render these mines among the most valuable of their kind in the world. The ore is dug from a hill, 500 feet high and nearly 2 miles in circumference, which is itself almost entirely one mass of ore. When smelted, it is found to contain on an average about 60 per cent. of pure iron. Fuel on the island is very scarce; and the ore is consequently conveyed on shipboard to the adjoining mainland to be smelted. The total quantity of iron ore annually extracted amounts to nearly 20,000 tons, giving employment to 130 miners. The salt mines of Elba are hardly inferior in celebrity to the iron ones. About 4,000,000 lbs. are annually produced, giving employment to about 100 workmen. Besides Porto Ferajo, the capital, and the town of Porto Longone, Elba contains no town of any size or importance. Campo, Capo Liveri, Marciana, and Rio are mere villages or fishing stations. In ancient history the name of Elba very rarely occurs; and in modern times it is chiefly memorable as having been the residence of the Emperor Napoleon after his first abdication from May 1814 till February 1815. From that time till the present Elba has been an appanage of the grand duchy of Tuscany. Pop. (1854) 21,559.