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Canary Islands Canarias (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
| Anthem: "Anthem of the Canaries" | |
_in_Spain.svg) Location of the Canary Islands relative to the Spanish mainland | |
| Country |  Spain |
| Capital | Santa Cruz de Tenerife (executive and legislative) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (executive and judicial) 28°N 16°W / 28°N 16°W |
| Largest city | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria |
| Demonym(s) | Canarian canario/-a (Spanish) |
| Area | |
• Total | 7,493 km2 (2,893 sq mi) (1.88% of Spain; 13th) |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 2,172,944[1] (8th) |
• Density | 290/km2 (751.1/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | €49.020 billion[2] |
• Per capita | €22,303 |
| Time zone | UTC (WET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (WEST) |
| ISO 3166 code |
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| Most populated island | Tenerife[3] |
| Official language | Spanish |
| Statute of Autonomy | 7 November 2018 |
| Parliament | Canarian Parliament |
| Congress seats | 15 (of 350) |
| Senate seats | 14 (of 265) |
| HDI (2021) | 0.871[4] very high · 15th |
| Website | www |
The Canary Islands (/kəˈnɛəri/, Spanish: Canarias, Spanish: [kaˈnaɾjas]), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Morocco and the Western Sahara. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.[5][6]
The seven main islands are, from largest to smallest in area, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. The only other populated island is La Graciosa, which administratively is dependent on Lanzarote. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, including Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste, and Roque del Este. It includes a number of rocks, including Garachico and Anaga. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles".[7] The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of Spain, and the largest and most populous archipelago of Macaronesia.[8] Because of their location, the Canary Islands have historically been considered a link between the four continents of Africa, North America, South America, and Europe.[9]
In 2023, the Canary Islands had a population of 2,236,013,[10] with a density of 299 inhabitants per km2, making it the seventh most populous autonomous community of Spain. The population is mostly concentrated in the two capital islands: around 43% on the island of Tenerife and 40% on the island of Gran Canaria.
The Canary Islands, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, are a major tourist destination, with over 16 million visitors in 2023.[11] This is due to their beaches, subtropical climate, and important natural attractions, especially Maspalomas in Gran Canaria and Mount Teide, a World Heritage Site in Tenerife. Mount Teide is the highest peak in Spain and the 3rd tallest volcano in the world, measured from its base on the ocean floor.[12] The islands have warm summers and winters warm enough for the climate to be technically tropical at sea level.[13] The amount of precipitation and the level of maritime moderation vary depending on location and elevation. The archipelago includes green areas as well as semi-desert. The islands' high mountains are ideal for astronomical observation, because they lie above the temperature inversion layer. As a result, the archipelago has two professional astronomical observatories: the Teide Observatory on Tenerife, and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma.[14]
In 1927, the Province of Canary Islands was split into two provinces. In 1982, the autonomous community of the Canary Islands was established. The cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are, jointly, the capitals of the islands.[15][16][17] Those cities are also, respectively, the capitals of the provinces of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has been the largest city in the Canaries since 1768, except for a brief period in the 1910s.[18] Between the 1833 territorial division of Spain and 1927, Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the sole capital of the Canary Islands. In 1927, it was ordered by decree that the capital of the Canary Islands would be shared between two cities, and this arrangement persists to the present day.[16][19] The third largest city in the Canary Islands is San Cristóbal de La Laguna, another World Heritage Site on Tenerife.[20][21][22]
During the Age of Sail, the islands were the main stopover for Spanish galleons during the Spanish colonisation of the Americas, which sailed that far south in order to catch the prevailing northeasterly trade winds.[23][24]
Etymology
The name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin name Canariae Insulae, meaning "Islands of the Dogs", perhaps because monk seals or sea dogs were abundant, a name that was evidently generalized from the ancient name of one of these islands, Canaria – presumably Gran Canaria. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, the island Canaria contained "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size".[25] The connection to dogs is retained in their depiction on the islands' coat-of-arms.
Other theories speculate that the name comes from the Nukkari Berber tribe living in the Moroccan Atlas, named in Roman sources as Canarii, though Pliny again mentions the relation of this term with dogs.[26]
The name of the islands is not derived from the canary bird. The birds are named after the islands.
Islands
From west to east, the Canary Islands are El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Graciosa. North of Lanzarote are the islets of Montaña Clara, Alegranza, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste, belonging to the Chinijo Archipelago. Northeast of Fuerteventura is the islet of Lobos. There are a series of small adjacent rocks in the Canary Islands: the Roques de Anaga, Garachico and Fasnia in Tenerife, and Salmor and Bonanza in El Hierro.
- The Canary Islands
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El Hierro
El Hierro, the westernmost island, covers 268.71 km2 (103.75 sq mi). It is the second smallest of the major islands, and the least populous with 10,798 inhabitants. The whole island was declared a Reserve of the Biosphere in 2000. Its capital is Valverde. Also known as Ferro, it was once the westernmost known land in the world. Ancient European geographers such as Ptolemy recognised the island as the prime meridian of longitude. That remained so until the 19th century, when it was displaced by the one passing through Greenwich.[27][28]
Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura, with a surface of 1,660 km2 (640 sq mi), is the second largest island of the archipelago. It has been declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. It is the oldest of the islands being more eroded. Its highest point is the Peak of the Bramble, at a height of 807 metres (2,648 feet). Its capital is Puerto del Rosario.
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria has 846,717 inhabitants. The capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with 377,203 inhabitants, is the most populous city and shares the status of capital of the Canaries with Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Gran Canaria's surface area is 1,560 km2 (600 sq mi). Roque Nublo 1,813 metres (5,948 feet) and Pico de las Nieves ("Peak of Snow") 1,949 metres (6,394 feet) are located in the center of the island. On the south of the island are the Maspalomas Dunes (Gran Canaria).
La Gomera
La Gomera has an area of 369.76 km2 (142.77 sq mi) and is the second least populous island with 21,136 inhabitants. Geologically it is one of the oldest of the archipelago. The insular capital is San Sebastian de La Gomera. Garajonay National Park is located on the island.
Lanzarote
Lanzarote is the easternmost island and one of the oldest of the archipelago, and it has shown evidence of recent volcanic activity. It has a surface of 845.94 km2 (326.62 sq mi), and a population of 149,183 inhabitants, including the adjacent islets of the Chinijo Archipelago. The capital is Arrecife, with 56,834 inhabitants.
Chinijo Archipelago
The Chinijo Archipelago includes the islands La Graciosa, Alegranza, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste. It has a surface of 40.8 km2 (15.8 sq mi), and only La Graciosa is populated, with 658 inhabitants. With 29 km2 (11 sq mi), La Graciosa, is the largest island of the Chinijo Archipelago and the smallest inhabited island of the Canaries.
La Palma
La Palma, with 81,863 inhabitants covering an area of 708.32 km2 (273.48 sq mi), is in its entirety a biosphere reserve. For long it showed no signs of volcanic activity, even though the volcano Teneguía entered into eruption last in 1971. On September 19, 2021, the volcanic Cumbre Vieja on the island erupted.[29] It is the second-highest island of the Canaries, with the Roque de los Muchachos at 2,423 metres (7,949 feet) as its highest point. Santa Cruz de La Palma, known to those on the island as simply "Santa Cruz", is its capital.
Tenerife
Tenerife is, with its area of 2,034 km2 (785 sq mi), the most extensive island of the Canary Islands. With 904,713 inhabitants, it is the most populated island of the archipelago and Spain. Two of the islands' principal cities are located on it: the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna, a World Heritage Site. San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the second city of the island, is home to the oldest university in the Canary Islands, the University of La Laguna. Teide, with its 3,715 metres (12,188 feet) is the highest peak of Spain and a World Heritage Site. Tenerife is the site of the worst air disaster in the history of aviation, in which 583 people were killed in the collision of two Boeing 747s on 27 March 1977.
La Graciosa
Graciosa Island or commonly La Graciosa is a volcanic island in the Canary Islands of Spain, located 2 km (1.2 mi) north of the island of Lanzarote across the Strait of El Río. It was formed by the Canary hotspot. The island is part of the Chinijo Archipelago and the Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park (Parque Natural del Archipiélago Chinijo). It is administered by the municipality of Teguise. In 2018, La Graciosa was declared as the eighth Canary Island by the Spanish Senate,[30][31][32] though it is not recognized as such by the Canarian administration. It is administratively dependent on the island of Lanzarote. It is the smallest and least populated of the main islands, with about 700 people.
