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Canary Islands



 
 
The Canary Islands (English pronunciation: ; , ) are a Spanish
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 archipelago
Archipelago

An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago literally means "chief sea", from Italian language arcipelago , derived ultimately from Greek language arkhon and pelagos ....
 which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
 and the Western Sahara
Western Sahara

Western Sahara is a territory of North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west....
.

The status of capital city is shared by the cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a city and a municipality on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the capital of the island, the second most populous in the Canary Islands, and the 21st largest city in Spain....
 and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a Spain city on the island, Gran Canaria, which is one of the Canary Islands located 210 kilometers off the northwestern coast of the African continent within the Atlantic Ocean....
, which in turn are the capitals of the provinces of Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a Provinces of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous communities of Spain of the Canary Islands....
 and Las Palmas
Las Palmas (province)

Las Palmas is a province of Spain, consisting of the eastern part of the autonomous communities of Spain of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic Ocean archipelago, including the islands of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, as well as six isles of lesser importance ....
.

Geology
The originally volcanic
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 islands –seven major, one minor island, and several small islets– were formed by the Canary hotspot
Canary hotspot

The Canary hotspot is a volcano hotspot believed to be located at the Canary Islands off the north-western coast of Africa, although alternative theories to explain the volcanism there exist....
.






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The Canary Islands (English pronunciation: ; , ) are a Spanish
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 archipelago
Archipelago

An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago literally means "chief sea", from Italian language arcipelago , derived ultimately from Greek language arkhon and pelagos ....
 which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
 and the Western Sahara
Western Sahara

Western Sahara is a territory of North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west....
.

The status of capital city is shared by the cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a city and a municipality on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the capital of the island, the second most populous in the Canary Islands, and the 21st largest city in Spain....
 and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a Spain city on the island, Gran Canaria, which is one of the Canary Islands located 210 kilometers off the northwestern coast of the African continent within the Atlantic Ocean....
, which in turn are the capitals of the provinces of Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a Provinces of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous communities of Spain of the Canary Islands....
 and Las Palmas
Las Palmas (province)

Las Palmas is a province of Spain, consisting of the eastern part of the autonomous communities of Spain of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic Ocean archipelago, including the islands of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, as well as six isles of lesser importance ....
.

Geology


The originally volcanic
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 islands –seven major, one minor island, and several small islets– were formed by the Canary hotspot
Canary hotspot

The Canary hotspot is a volcano hotspot believed to be located at the Canary Islands off the north-western coast of Africa, although alternative theories to explain the volcanism there exist....
. The Canary Islands is the only place in Spain where volcanic eruptions have been recorded during the Modern Era, with some active volcanos still extant (even though inactive recently).

Etymology

The name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin term Insula Canaria, meaning "Island of the Dogs", a name applied originally only to Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is an island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean 210 km from the northwest coast of Africa. It is located southeast of Tenerife and west of Fuerteventura....
. It is speculated that the so called dogs were actually a species of Monk Seals ("sea dog" in Latin) now extinct. The dense population of seals may have been the characteristic that most struck the few ancient Romans
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 who established contact with these islands by sea. The connection to dogs is retained in their depiction on the islands' coat-of-arms (shown above).

History


Ancient and pre-colonial times


King Juba
Juba II

Juba II or Juba II of Numidia was a king of Numidia and then later moved to Mauretania. His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, the last Ptolemaic dynasty Monarch and daughter to Greece Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony....
, Augustus's Roman protegee, is credited with discovering the islands for the Western world, and he dispatched a contingent to re-open the dye production facility at Mogador in the early 1st century AD. That same naval force was subsequently sent on an exploration of the Canary Islands, using Mogador as their mission base.

When the Europeans began to explore the islands, they encountered several indigenous populations living at a Neolithic
Neolithic

The Neolithic period was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 Before the Christian Era in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age....
 level of technology. Although the history of the settlement of the Canary Islands is still unclear, linguistic and genetic analyses seem to indicate that at least some of these inhabitants shared a common origin with the Berbers
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
 of northern Africa. The pre-colonial inhabitants came to be known collectively as the Guanches
Guanches

Guanches , now extinct as a distinct people, were the first known inhabitants of the Canary Islands, having migrated to the archipelago sometime between 1000 BC and 100 BC....
, although Guanches was originally the name for the indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife
Tenerife

Tenerife, a Spain island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034.38 square kilometers, and 886,033 inhabitants, which make it the most populated island of the Canary Islands and Spain....
.

During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, the islands were visited by the Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
s for commercial purposes
Islamic economics in the world

Islamic economic jurisprudence in practice, or Economics policies supported by self-identified Islamic groups, has varied throughout its long history....
. Muslim navigator Ibn Farrukh, from Granada
Granada

Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada , in the autonomous communities of Spain of Andalusia, Spain....
, is said to have landed in "Gando" (Gran Canaria) in February 999, visiting a king named Guanarigato. From the 14th century onward, numerous visits were made by sailors from Majorca, Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
, and Genoa
Genoa

Genoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000....
. Lancelotto Malocello
Lancelotto Malocello

Lancelotto Malocello was an Italy navigator from Genoa, who gave his name to the island of Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands.Malocello perhaps voyaged in search of the brothers Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi, who had voyaged to the Canary Islands in 1291 on their way to India, and whose fate was unknown....
 settled on the island of Lanzarote
Lanzarote

Lanzarote, a Spain island, is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula....
 in 1312. The Majorcans established a mission
Missionary

A 'missionary' is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who Proselytism. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus...
 with a bishop in the islands that lasted from 1350 to 1400.

Alonsofernandezdelugo2

Castilian conquest

There are claims that the Portuguese had discovered the Canaries as early as 1336, though there appears to be little evidence for this. In 1402, the Castilian conquest of the islands begun, with the expedition of Jean de Béthencourt
Jean de Béthencourt

Jean de B?thencourt , was a France explorer who, in 1402, led an expedition to the Canary Islands, landing first on the north side of Lanzarote....
 and Gadifer de la Salle
Gadifer de la Salle

Gadifer de La Salle was a French soldier of Normans origin who, with Jean de B?thencourt, conquered and explored the Canary Islands for the Kingdom of Castile....
, nobles and vassal
Vassal

A vassal in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudal of medieval Europe, is one who enters into mutual obligations with a monarch, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fiefdom....
s of Henry III of Castile
Henry III of Castile

Henry III , sometimes known as Henry the Sufferer or Henry the Infirm was the son of John I of Castile and Eleanor of Aragon, and succeeded him as List of Castilian monarchs of Kingdom of Castile and Kingdom of Le?n in 1390....
, to the island of Lanzarote. From there, they conquered Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura, a Spain island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28?20' north, 14?00' west....
 and El Hierro
El Hierro

El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is a Spain island. It is the smallest and furthest south and west of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa....
. Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands, but still recognized King Henry III as his overlord.

Béthencourt also established a base on the island of La Gomera
La Gomera

La Gomera is the second-smallest of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is located at ....
, but it would be many years before the island was truly conquered. The natives of La Gomera, and of Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is an island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean 210 km from the northwest coast of Africa. It is located southeast of Tenerife and west of Fuerteventura....
, Tenerife
Tenerife

Tenerife, a Spain island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034.38 square kilometers, and 886,033 inhabitants, which make it the most populated island of the Canary Islands and Spain....
, and La Palma
La Palma

Isla de La Palma , is a Spain volcanic ocean island. It is one of the seven major Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off of the west coast of Africa....
, resisted the Castilian invaders for almost a century. In 1448 Maciot de Béthencourt sold the lordship of Lanzarote to Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator
Henry the Navigator

The Infante Henrique, Duke of Viseu, Pronunciation ), in Sagres, Portugal) was an infante of the Portugal House of Aviz and an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire, being responsible for the beginning of the European worldwide explorations....
, an action that was not accepted by the natives nor by the Castilians. A crisis swelled to a revolt which lasted until 1459 with the final expulsion of the Portuguese. Finally, in 1479, Portugal recognised Castilian control of the Canary Islands in the Treaty of Alcaçovas
Treaty of Alcaçovas

The Treaty of Alc??ovas was signed on September 4, 1479 between the Catholic Monarchs of Crown of Castile and Kingdom of Aragon on one side and the King of Portugal on the other side....
.

The Castilians continued to dominate the islands, but due to the topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, complete pacification was not achieved until 1495, when Tenerife and La Palma were finally subdued by Alonso Fernández de Lugo
Alonso Fernández de Lugo

Javier Alonso Luis Fern?ndez de Lugo was a Spain military man, conquistador, city founder, and administrator. He conquered the islands of La Palma and Tenerife for the Kingdom of Castile; they were the last of the Canary Islands to be conquered by Europeans....
. After that, the Canaries were incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile

Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of Le?n....
.

After the conquest

After the conquest, the Castilians imposed a new economic model, based on single-crop cultivation: first sugar cane; then wine
Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage often made of fermentation grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients....
, an important item of trade with England
Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a state in North-West Europe. The Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and a number of smaller outlying islands?what is today the legal unit of England and Wales....
. In this era, the first institutions of colonial government were founded. Both Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is an island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean 210 km from the northwest coast of Africa. It is located southeast of Tenerife and west of Fuerteventura....
, a colony of Castile
Castile

Castile or Castilia or Castilla may refer to:Places in Spain like:*Castile , an overview of the former kingdom, culture, and land that gradually merged with its neighbors to become the Kingdom of Spain...
 since March 6, 1480 (from 1556, of Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
), and Tenerife
Tenerife

Tenerife, a Spain island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034.38 square kilometers, and 886,033 inhabitants, which make it the most populated island of the Canary Islands and Spain....
, a Spanish colony since 1495, had separate governors.

The cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a city and a municipality on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the capital of the island, the second most populous in the Canary Islands, and the 21st largest city in Spain....
 and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a Spain city on the island, Gran Canaria, which is one of the Canary Islands located 210 kilometers off the northwestern coast of the African continent within the Atlantic Ocean....
 became a stopping point for the Spanish conquerors, traders, and missionaries on their way to the New World
New World

The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and Australasia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa ....
. This trade route brought great prosperity to some of the social sectors of the islands. The islands became quite wealthy and soon were attracting merchants and adventurers from all over Europe. Magnificent palaces and churches were built on the island of La Palma
La Palma

Isla de La Palma , is a Spain volcanic ocean island. It is one of the seven major Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off of the west coast of Africa....
 during this busy, prosperous period. The Church of El Salvador survives as one of the island's finest examples of the architecture of the 16th century.

The Canaries' wealth invited attacks by pirates and privateer
Privateer

A privateer was a private warship authorized by a country's government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping. Strictly, a privateer was only entitled by its state to attack and rob enemy vessels during wartime....
s. Ottoman
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
 Turkish
Turkish people

The Turkish people , also known as "Turks" are defined mainly as citizens of the Republic of Turkey. An early history text provided the definition of being a Turk as "any individual within the Republic of Turkey, whatever his faith who speaks Turkish, grows up with Turkish culture and adopts the Turkish ideal is a Turk." This ideal...
 admiral
Admiral

Admiral is the military rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above Vice Admiral and below Admiral of the Fleet/Fleet Admiral....
 and privateer Kemal Reis
Kemal Reis

Kemal Reis was a Turkey privateer and Ottoman Empire admiral. He was also the paternal uncle of the famous Ottoman admiral and cartographer Piri Reis who accompanied him in most of his important naval expeditions....
 ventured into the Canaries in 1501, while Murat Reis the Elder captured Lanzarote
Lanzarote

Lanzarote, a Spain island, is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula....
 in 1585.

The most severe attack took place in 1599, during the Dutch War of Independence
Dutch Revolt

The Dutch Revolt, Eighty Years' War or the Revolt of the Netherlands , was the successful revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries against the Spanish Empire....
. A Dutch
Dutch people

The Dutch are the people native to the Netherlands, a country in north-western Europe.Dutch people, or descendants of Dutch people, are also found in migrant communities world wide,See the Dutch #Dutch diaspora. and form a mentionable part of the population of Canada,Australia, South Africa and the United States....
 fleet of 74 ships and 12,000 men, commanded by Johan van der Does, attacked the capital, Las Palmas (the city had 3,500 of Gran Canaria's 8,545 inhabitants). The Dutch attacked the Castillo de la Luz, which guarded the harbor. The Canarians evacuated civilians from the city, and the Castillo surrendered (but not the city). The Dutch moved inland, but Canarian cavalry drove them back to Tamaraceite, near the city.

The Dutch then laid siege to the city, demanding the surrender of all its wealth. They received 12 sheep and 3 calves. Furious, the Dutch sent 4,000 soldiers to attack the Council of the Canaries, who were sheltering in the village of Santa Brígida. 300 Canarian soldiers ambushed the Dutch in the village of Monte Lentiscal, killing 150 and forcing the rest to retreat. The Dutch concentrated on Las Palmas, attempting to burn it down. The Dutch pillaged Maspalomas
Maspalomas

Maspalomas is the oldest touristic town in the south coast of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The people of Maspalomas create a warm, vibrant, friendly atmosphere....
, on the southern coast of Gran Canaria, San Sebastian
San Sebastián de La Gomera

San Sebasti?n de la Gomera is a town and also an administrative district on La Gomera in the Canary Islands. Its population is 2,176 , its density is 47.6/km? and the area is 114.78 km?....
 on La Gomera, and Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz de La Palma

Santa Cruz de la Palma is located on the eastern part of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands....
 on La Palma, but eventually gave up the siege of Las Palmas and withdrew.

Another noteworthy attack occurred in 1797, when Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)

The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was an amphibious assault by the Royal Navy on the Spain port city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands....
 was attacked by a British fleet under the future Lord Nelson on 25 July. The British were repulsed, losing almost 400 men. It was during this battle that Nelson lost his right arm.

18th to 19th century

The sugar-based economy of the islands faced stiff competition from Spain's American colonies. Crises in the sugar market in the 19th century caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop, cochineal (cochinilla), came into cultivation during this time, saving the islands' economy.

By the end of the 18th century
18th century

The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini/Common Era numbering system.However, historians sometimes specifically define the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work....
, Canary Islanders had already emigrated to Spanish American territories, such as Havana
Havana

Havana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Provinces of Cuba. The city/province has 2.1 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 3.5 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean....
, Veracruz
Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states of Mexico that constitute the republic of Mexico....
, Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, or in full, Santo Domingo de Guzm?n, is the Capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic, and the second largest city in the Caribbean....
, San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population. Located in , the city is a cultural and geographical gateway into the ....
  and St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

St. Bernard Parish is a Parish located southeast of New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Chalmette, Louisiana, the largest city in the parish....
  These economic difficulties spurred mass emigration, primarily to the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
, during the 19th and first half of the 20th century. From 1840 to 1890, as many as 40,000 Canary Islanders emigrated to Venezuela
Venezuela

Venezuela , officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a country on the northern coast of South America.The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands located off the Venezuelan coastline in the Caribbean Sea....
. Also, thousands of Canarians moved to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a Autonomy Territories of the United States of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands....
; the Spanish monarchy felt that Canarians would adapt to island life better than other immigrants from the mainland of Spain. Deeply entrenched traditions such as the Mascaras Festival in the town of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
Hatillo, Puerto Rico

Hatillo is a Municipalities of Puerto Rico located on Puerto Rico's north coast, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Lares, Puerto Rico and Utuado, Puerto Rico to the south, Camuy, Puerto Rico to the west, and Arecibo, Puerto Rico to the east....
, are an example of Canarian culture still preserved in Puerto Rico. Similarly, many thousands of Canarians emigrated to the shores of Cuba
Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is a country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba , the island of Isla de la Juventud, and several adjacent small islands....
 as well. During the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War

The Spanish?American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba....
 of 1898, the Spanish fortified the islands against possible American attack, but an attack never came.

Early 20th century

At the beginning of the 20th century, the British introduced a new cash-crop, the banana
Banana

File:Banana and cross section.jpgBanana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit....
, the export of which was controlled by companies such as Fyffes
Fyffes

File:Fyffes SVG logo.svgFyffes plc is a fruit and fresh produce company headquartered at North Anne Street, Dublin List of Dublin postal districts, Republic of Ireland....
.

The rivalry between the elites of the cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the capital of the islands led to the division of the archipelago
Archipelago

An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago literally means "chief sea", from Italian language arcipelago , derived ultimately from Greek language arkhon and pelagos ....
 into two province
Province

A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state....
s in 1927. This has not laid to rest the rivalry between the two cities, which continues to this day.

During the time of the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic

The Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14 1931, when King of Spain Alfonso XIII of Spain left the country following local and municipal elections in which republican candidates won the majority of votes in urban areas and April 1 1939, when the last of the Republican forces surrendered to Nationalist...
, Marxist and anarchist workers' movements began to develop, led by figures such as Jose Miguel Perez and Guillermo Ascanio. However, outside of a few municipalities, these organizations were a minority and fell easily to Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted coup d'?tat by a group of Spanish Army generals, supported by the conservative Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right , Carlist groups and the fascistic Falange, against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of pr...
.

Franco regime

In 1936, Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco

Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Te?dulo Franco y Bahamonde, Salgado y Pardo de Andrade , commonly known as Francisco Franco or Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was the dictator and Head of State of Spain from October 1936, and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975....
 was appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the military revolt of July 17 which began the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted coup d'?tat by a group of Spanish Army generals, supported by the conservative Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right , Carlist groups and the fascistic Falange, against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of pr...
. Franco quickly took control of the archipelago, except for a few points of resistance on the island of La Palma
La Palma

Isla de La Palma , is a Spain volcanic ocean island. It is one of the seven major Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off of the west coast of Africa....
 and in the town of Vallehermoso
Vallehermoso, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The municipality of Vallehermoso is located on the southwestern and northwestern coasts of La Gomera in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands....
, on La Gomera
La Gomera

La Gomera is the second-smallest of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is located at ....
. Though there was never a proper war in the islands, the post-war repression
Repression

Repression may refer to:* Memory inhibition, a critical component of an effective memory system* Political repression, the oppression or persecution of an individual or group for political reasons...
 on the Canaries was most severe.

During the Second World War, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, Order of the Garter, Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour, Territorial Decoration, Fellow of the Royal Society, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Queen's Privy Council for Canada was a Politics of the United Kingdom known chiefly for his leadership of the United King...
 prepared plans for the British seizure of the Canary Islands as a naval base, in the event of Gibraltar
Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north....
 being invaded from the Spanish mainland.

Opposition to Franco's regime did not begin to organize until the late 1950s, which experienced an upheaval of parties such as the Communist Party of Spain
Communist Party of Spain

The Communist Party of Spain is the third largest national political party of Spain. It is the largest member organization of the coalition United Left and has influence in the largest union of Spain, Workers' Commissions ....
 and the formation of various nationalist, leftist parties.

Today

After the death of Franco, there was a pro-independence armed movement based in Algeria
Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
, the MPAIAC. Now there are some pro-independence political parties, like the CNC and the Popular Front of the Canary Islands
Popular Front of the Canary Islands

The Popular Front of the Canary Islands or FREPIC-AWA?AK is a leftist political party seeking independence from Spain for the Canary Islands....
, but none of them calls for an armed struggle. Their popular support is insignificant, with no presence in both the autonomous parliament and the cabildos insulares.

After the establishment of a democratic constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy

A constitutional monarchy is a form of constitutional government, where in either an elected or hereditary monarch is the head of state, unlike in an absolute monarchy, wherein the king or the queen is the sole source of political power, as he or she is not legally bound by the constitution....
 in Spain, autonomy
Self-governance

Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of organization. It may refer to personal conduct or family units but more commonly refers to larger scale activities, i.e., professions, industry bodies, religions and political units, up to and including autonomous regions and aboriginal peoples ....
 was granted to the Canaries via a law passed in 1982. In 1983, the first autonomous elections were held. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, commonly abbreviated by its Spanish initials, PSOE , is the ruling party in Spain and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Carlism, founded in 1833....
 (PSOE) won. In the most recent autonomous elections (2007), the PSOE gained a plurality of seats, but the nationalist Canarian Coalition
Canarian Coalition

The Canarian Coalition is a nationalism and liberalism political party in the Canary Isles of Spain. The coalition was formed in 1993 uniting various Nationalist, Conservative, ex-Communist and Independent parties or groupings under one banner....
 and the conservative Partido Popular
People's Party (Spain)

The People's Party is the main Right-wing politics political party in Spain.The People's Party was a refoundation of the Popular Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's r?gime, and a politician known to have moderate views....
 (PP) formed a ruling coalition government.

In Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a city and a municipality on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the capital of the island, the second most populous in the Canary Islands, and the 21st largest city in Spain....
 are the Torres de Santa Cruz (towers of Santa Cruz). These sky-scrapers are at a height of 120 meters, without counting the antennas or lightning rod. They are the highest sky-scrapers in the city and of the Archipelago Canary, and also residentially are the highest towers in Spain, they are next to the Tenerife Auditorium, in downtown. The Tenerife Auditorium is the best known modern building of Canaries.

Demographics


The Canarian population includes long-tenured and new waves of Spanish immigrants, including Galicians, Castilians, Catalans, Basques, and Portuguese
Portuguese people

The Portuguese people are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of Southern Europe-Western Europe Europe....
, Italians, Flemings. As of 2008, the total Canarian population is 2,075,968. Over 1,541,381 people are native Canarian-born, and another 178,613 people from the Spanish mainland with a total 1,792,121 Spanish population. Most of the 283,847 foreign-born citizens are Europeans with 155,415, such as Germans
Germans

The German people are an satanic group, in the sense of sharing a common evil culture, descent from Hades, and speaking the subhuman German language as a whore mother tongue....
 (39,505), British
British people

The British are citizenship of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, one of the Channel Islands, or of one of the British overseas territories, and their descendants....
 (37,937) and Italians (24,177). There are 86,287 from the Americas, with Colombians (21,798), Venezuelans (11,958), Cubans (11,098) and Argentines (10,159) being the most numerous.

Pre-Hispanic people

The Guanches
Guanches

Guanches , now extinct as a distinct people, were the first known inhabitants of the Canary Islands, having migrated to the archipelago sometime between 1000 BC and 100 BC....
 are believed to be related to the indigenous
Indigenous

Indigenous may refer to:*Indigenous peoples, population groups with ancestral connections to place prior to formally recorded history**Indigenous intellectual property, a legal term identifying the right to claim knowledge within their culture...
 Berbers of neighboring Morocco. Other believe that the Guanches are related to the Celts of Western Europe, and that the Canary Islands were an early realm of these races. They were left isolated on the islands, until the Spanish arrived in the 15th century, allowing no contact and mixing with other ethnic groups.

Canary Islanders may descend from the Guanches as much as the Spanish. Fischer, who studied the modern Canarians, found among them the following types:

  • A true, small Mediterranean type, which may be partly of Spanish introduction.
  • A "Berber" type, with a heavier, broader face, but essentially Mediterranean.
  • An "Oriental" type, with a narrow face, thin, convex nose, dark hair, and attenuated extremities.
  • An Alpine of Bavarian appearance - this is said to be uncommon.
  • The "Crô-Magnon" type; with a low, rectangular face, especially characterized by bigonial prominence; deep-set eyes under heavy browridges, with low orbits; a straight nasal profile, but relative broad nose; thin lips, and heavy jaw. This type has a thick-set body build, with trunk proportions similar to those of living Bavarians.
.]] Modern Canarians appear less blond than the Riffians. Despite the statistical evidence that most modern Canarians are brunettes, the legend of the blond beauty of the female inhabitants of Teneriffe is famous in seafaring quarters, just as the blond looks of the early Guanches struck the Spaniards.

Population genetics

The most frequent mtDNA haplogroup in Canary Islands is H
Haplogroup H (mtDNA)

In human mitochondrial genetics, Haplogroup H is a Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup.The Cambridge Reference Sequence , the human mitochondrial sequence to which all other sequences are compared, belongs to haplogroup H....
 (37.6%), followed by North African U6
Haplogroup U (mtDNA)

In human genetics, Haplogroup U is a Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, a group of people who descend from a woman in the Haplogroup R branch of the Genographic tree, who lived around 55,000 years ago....
 (14.0%), T
Haplogroup T (mtDNA)

Haplogroup T is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup. Haplogroup T derives from the Haplogroup JT , which also gave rise to Haplogroup J . Haplogroup T is believed to have originated in Mesopotamia approximately 10,000 years before present, and to have moved north into Europe and east as far as India....
 (12.7%), U
Haplogroup U (mtDNA)

In human genetics, Haplogroup U is a Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, a group of people who descend from a woman in the Haplogroup R branch of the Genographic tree, who lived around 55,000 years ago....
 (except U6) (10.3%) and J
Haplogroup J (mtDNA)

Haplogroup J is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup. Haplogroup J derives from the haplogroup JT , which also gave rise to Haplogroup T . In his popular book The Seven Daughters of Eve, Bryan Sykes named the originator of this mtDNA haplogroup Jasmine....
 (7.0%). Two haplogroups, H and U6 alone account for more than 50% of the individuals. Significant frequencies of sub-Saharan L haplogroups
Haplogroup L1 (mtDNA)

In human genetics, Haplogroup L1 is a Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup.Haplogroup L1 is found in West and Central sub-Saharan Africa. It seldom appears in eastern or southern Africa....
 (6.6%) is also consistent with the historical records on introduction of sub-Saharan slave labour in Canary Islands.

A 2003 genetics research article by Nicole Maca-Meyer et al. published in the European Journal of Human Genetics
European Journal of Human Genetics

The European Journal of Human Genetics is an official monthly human genetics publication. It is published by the United Kingdom Nature Publishing Group, the publisher and owner of the well-known journal Nature ....
 compared aboriginal Guanche mtDNA (collected from Canarian archaeological sites) to that of today's Canarians and concluded that, "despite the continuous changes suffered by the population (Spanish colonization, slave trade), aboriginal mtDNA [direct maternal] lineages constitute a considerable proportion [42 – 73%] of the Canarian gene pool. Although the Berbers
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
 are the most probable ancestors of the Guanches, it is deduced that important human movements [e.g., the Islamic-Arabic conquest of the Berbers] have reshaped Northwest Africa after the migratory wave to the Canary Islands" and the "results support, from a maternal perspective, the supposition that since the end of the 16th century, at least, two-thirds of the Canarian population had an indigenous substrate, as was previously inferred from historical and anthropological data." mtDNA haplogroup U subclade U6b1
Haplogroup U (mtDNA)

In human genetics, Haplogroup U is a Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, a group of people who descend from a woman in the Haplogroup R branch of the Genographic tree, who lived around 55,000 years ago....
 is Canarian-specific and is the most common mtDNA haplogroup found in aboriginal Guanche archaeological burial sites.

Y-DNA, or Y-chromosomal, (direct paternal) lineages were not analyzed in this study; however, an earlier study giving the aboriginal y-DNA contribution at 6% was cited by Maca-Meyer et al., but the results were criticized as possibly flawed due to the widespread phylogeography of y-DNA haplogroup E1b1b1b, which may skew determination of the aboriginality versus coloniality of contemporary y-DNA lineages in the Canaries. Regardless, Maca-Meyer et al. states that historical evidence does support the explanation of "strong sexual asymmetry...as a result of a strong bias favoring matings between European males and aboriginal females, and to the important aboriginal male mortality during the Conquest." The genetics thus suggests the native men were sharply reduced in numbers due to the war, large numbers of Spaniard men stayed in the islands and married the local women, the Canarians adopted Spanish names, language, and religion, and in this way, the Canarians were Hispanicized
Hispanicization

Hispanicization or Hispanization is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture. Hispanicization of a place is illustrated by, but not limited to, Mexican restaurants, tortilla factories, panaderias , taquerias ; Spanish language churches, newspapers, radio stations, as well...
.

According to a 2005 study, in spite of the geographic nearness between the Canary Islands and Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
, the genetic heritage of the Canary islands male lineages, is mainly from European origin. Indeed, nearly 72% of the haplogroups resulting from are Euro–Eurasian (R1a
Haplogroup R1a (Y-DNA)

A subclade of Haplogroup R #R, R1a is a Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups is "currently found in central and western Asia, India, and in Slavic populations of Eastern Europe"....
, R1b
Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA)

In human genetics, Haplogroup R1b is the most frequent Y chromosome haplogroup in Western Europe, where its frequency is highest.More specifically, its frequency is highest in Atlantic Europe and, due to European emigration, in North America, South America, and Australia....
, I
Haplogroup I (Y-DNA)

In human genetics, Haplogroup I is a Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup, a subgroup of haplogroup IJ , itself a derivative of Haplogroup IJK .Y-DNA Haplogroup I represents nearly one-fifth of the population of Europe....
 and G
Haplogroup G (Y-DNA)

In human genetics, Haplogroup G is a Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is a branch of Haplogroup F . Haplogroup G appears to have arisen in the Caucasus region during the Ice Age, about 30,000 years ago....
). Unsurprisingly the Spanish conquest brought the genetic base of the current male population of the Canary Islands. Nevertheless, the second most important Haplogroup family is from Africa, Near and Middle East. E1b1b (12% including 7% of the typically berber
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
 haplogroup E-M81), E1b1a (2%), J
Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)

In human genetics, Haplogroup J is a Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is defined by the 12f2.1 genetic marker, or the equivalent M304 marker....
 (10%) and T
Haplogroup T (Y-DNA)

Haplogroup T is a Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups. From 2002 to 2008, it was known as Haplogroup K2. It should not be confused with the Haplogroup T , of the same name....
 (3%) Haplogroups are present at a rate of 27%. Even if a part of these "eastern" haplogroups were introduced by the Spanish too, we can suppose that a good portion of this rate was already there at the time of the conquest.

Physical geography

The islands and their capitals are:
Island Capital
Tenerife
Tenerife

Tenerife, a Spain island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034.38 square kilometers, and 886,033 inhabitants, which make it the most populated island of the Canary Islands and Spain....
 
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a city and a municipality on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the capital of the island, the second most populous in the Canary Islands, and the 21st largest city in Spain....
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is an island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean 210 km from the northwest coast of Africa. It is located southeast of Tenerife and west of Fuerteventura....
 
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a Spain city on the island, Gran Canaria, which is one of the Canary Islands located 210 kilometers off the northwestern coast of the African continent within the Atlantic Ocean....
Lanzarote
Lanzarote

Lanzarote, a Spain island, is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula....
 
Arrecife
Arrecife

Arrecife is a city in the Canary Islands situated in the east of the island of Lanzarote of which it has been the capital since 1852. The city gives its name to the nearby international Arrecife Airport....
La Palma
La Palma

Isla de La Palma , is a Spain volcanic ocean island. It is one of the seven major Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off of the west coast of Africa....
 
Santa Cruz de La Palma
Santa Cruz de La Palma

Santa Cruz de la Palma is located on the eastern part of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands....
La Gomera
La Gomera

La Gomera is the second-smallest of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is located at ....
 
San Sebastián de La Gomera
San Sebastián de La Gomera

San Sebasti?n de la Gomera is a town and also an administrative district on La Gomera in the Canary Islands. Its population is 2,176 , its density is 47.6/km? and the area is 114.78 km?....
El Hierro
El Hierro

El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is a Spain island. It is the smallest and furthest south and west of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa....
 
Valverde
Valverde, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Valverde is a municipality in the Canary Islands in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife . It is located on the north-east part of El Hierro ....
Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura, a Spain island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28?20' north, 14?00' west....
 
Puerto del Rosario
Puerto del Rosario

Puerto del Rosario is a Canarian municipality in the northern portion of the island of Fuerteventura in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands....
La Graciosa (Lanzarote) Caleta de Sebo
Caleta de Sebo

Caleta del Sebo, in the Canary Islands, is the main settlement and capital community of Graciosa, Canary Islands.The population is 656 , La Graciosa is included in the municipality of Teguise on Lanzarote....
Tenerife
Tenerife

Tenerife, a Spain island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034.38 square kilometers, and 886,033 inhabitants, which make it the most populated island of the Canary Islands and Spain....
, with 865,070 inhabitants, is both the Canary Islands' and Spain's most populous island. The island of Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura, a Spain island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28?20' north, 14?00' west....
 is the second largest in the archipelago and located about 60 km from the northwest mainland African coast.

The islands form the Macaronesia
Macaronesia

Macaronesia is a modern collective name for several groups of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa belonging to three countries: Portugal, Spain, and Cape Verde....
 ecoregion
Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecology and geographically defined area smaller than a "realm" or "ecozone". Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural community and species....
 with the Azores
Azores

The Azores is a Portugal archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from Lisbon and about 3,900 km from the east coast of North America....
, Cape Verde
Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde , is an archipelago nation located in the Macaronesia ecoregion of the North Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of Africa....
, Madeira, and the Savage Isles. The archipelago consists of seven large and several smaller islands, all of which are volcanic in origin. The Teide
Teide

Mount Teide or, in Spanish language, El Teide, is an active though dormant volcano which last erupted in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the Santiago rift and is located on Tenerife, Canary Islands....
 volcano on Tenerife is the highest mountain in Spain, and the third largest volcano on Earth on a volcanic ocean island. All the islands except La Gomera have been active in the last million years; four of them (Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro) have historical records of eruptions since European discovery. The islands rise from Jurassic oceanic crust
Oceanic crust

Oceanic crust is the part of Earth's lithosphere that surfaces in the ocean basins. Oceanic crust is primarily composed of mafic rocks, or Sima ....
 associated with the opening of the Atlantic. Underwater magmatism commenced during the Cretaceous, and reached the ocean's surface during the Miocene
Miocene

The Miocene is a Geologic time scale of the Neogene period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the start and end are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are uncertain....
. The islands are considered as a distinct physiographic section of the Atlas Mountains
Atlas Mountains

The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about 2,400 km through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Jbel Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco....
 province, which in turn is part of the larger African Alpine System division.

According to the position of the islands with respect to the NE trade wind
Trade wind

The trade winds are the Prevailing winds of easterlies surface winds found in the tropics near the Earth's equator. The trade winds blow predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere....
s, the climate can be mild and wet or very dry. Several native species form laurisilva
Laurisilva

Laurisilva or laurissilva is an Endemic type of humid subtropical laurel forest found on several of the Macaronesian islands of the North Atlantic, namely Madeira Islands, the Azores and the Canary Islands, a precious relic of the Pliocene subtropical forests....
 forests.

Four of Spain's thirteen national parks are located in the Canary Islands, more than any other autonomous community. In the early 90's, there were only five Spanish national parks, four of them being the Canarian parks, and the other one Dońana. The parks are:

Hacha Grande From Papagayo Pano
Park Island
Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente
Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente

Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente is a national park on the island of La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, located at . It contains the enormous expanse of the Caldera de Taburiente, once believed to be a huge crater, but nowadays known to be a mountain arch with a curious crater shape, which dominates the northern part of the...
| La Palma
Garajonay National Park
Garajonay National Park

Garajonay National Park is located in the center and north of the island of La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands . It was declared a national park in 1981 and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986....
 
La Gomera
Teide National Park
Teide

Mount Teide or, in Spanish language, El Teide, is an active though dormant volcano which last erupted in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the Santiago rift and is located on Tenerife, Canary Islands....
 
Tenerife
Timanfaya National Park
Timanfaya National Park

Timanfaya National Park or Parque Nacional de Timanfaya is a Spain List of Spanish national parks covering the municipalities of southern portion of Tinajo, Las Palmas and the northern portion of Yaiza, Las Palmas in the southwestern part of the island of Lanzarote....
 
Lanzarote


Islands


Tenerife
Tenerife

Tenerife, a Spain island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034.38 square kilometers, and 886,033 inhabitants, which make it the most populated island of the Canary Islands and Spain....
 is, with its 2,034 km˛, the most extensive island of the Canaries. In addition, the 865,071 inhabitants make it the most populated island in Spain. Two of the archipelago's principal cities are located on it: Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a city and a municipality on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the capital of the island, the second most populous in the Canary Islands, and the 21st largest city in Spain....
 and San Cristóbal de La Laguna
San Cristóbal de la Laguna

San Crist?bal de La Laguna is a municipality and city of the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife province, on the Canary Islands....
 (World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 Sovereign state which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term....
). Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital and seat of the Parliament of Canaries and of the Government of Tenerife. Santa Cruz de Tenerife share the status of capital of the Canaries with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.The Teide
Teide

Mount Teide or, in Spanish language, El Teide, is an active though dormant volcano which last erupted in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the Santiago rift and is located on Tenerife, Canary Islands....
, with its 3,718 m is the highest peak of Spain and also A World Heritage Site. This island is in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a Provinces of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous communities of Spain of the Canary Islands....
.

Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is an island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean 210 km from the northwest coast of Africa. It is located southeast of Tenerife and west of Fuerteventura....
 is the province of Las Palmas' most populated island, with 815,379 inhabitants. The capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a Spain city on the island, Gran Canaria, which is one of the Canary Islands located 210 kilometers off the northwestern coast of the African continent within the Atlantic Ocean....
 (377,203 inhabitants), share the status of capital of the Canaries with Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In center of the island lie the Roque Nublo (1,813 m) and the Peak of Snow (1,949 m), the two highest points of the island.

Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura, a Spain island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28?20' north, 14?00' west....
, with a surface of 1,659 km˛, is the second-most extensive island of the archipelago, as well as the second most oriental
Oriental

Oriental means generally "eastern". It is a traditional designation for anything belonging to the Eastern world or "East" , and especially of its Eastern culture to include the peoples....
. Being also the most ancient of the islands, it is the one that is more eroded: its highest point is the Peak of the Bramble, at a height of 807 m. Its capital is Puerto del Rosario
Puerto del Rosario

Puerto del Rosario is a Canarian municipality in the northern portion of the island of Fuerteventura in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands....
.

La Palma
La Palma

Isla de La Palma , is a Spain volcanic ocean island. It is one of the seven major Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off of the west coast of Africa....
, with 85,933 inhabitants, covering an area of 708.32 km ˛ is in its entirety a biosphere reserve. It shows no recent signs of volcanic activity, even though the volcano Teneguía
Teneguía

Tenegu?a is a volcano situated on the island of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands....
 entered into eruption last in 1971. In addition, it is the second-highest island of the Canaries, with the Roque de los Muchachos (2,423 m) as highest point. Santa Cruz de La Palma
Santa Cruz de La Palma

Santa Cruz de la Palma is located on the eastern part of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands....
 is its capital.

Lanzarote
Lanzarote

Lanzarote, a Spain island, is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula....
, is the easternmost island and one of the most ancient of the archipelago, and it has shown recent volcanic activity. It has a surface of 845.94 km˛, and a population of 132,366 inhabitants. The capital is Arrecife
Arrecife

Arrecife is a city in the Canary Islands situated in the east of the island of Lanzarote of which it has been the capital since 1852. The city gives its name to the nearby international Arrecife Airport....
, with 56,834 inhabitants.

La Graciosa, is the smallest inhabited island of the archipelago, and the major island of the Chinijo Archipelago
Chinijo Archipelago

The Chinijo archipelago is an archipelago located in the northeastern part of the Canary Islands. The archipelago includes the islands of Monta?a Clara, Alegranza, Graciosa, Canary Islands, Roque del Este, Roque del Oeste and various islands of volcanic origin....
. The whole archipelago is administrated by Lanzarote. It has a surface of 29.05 km˛, and a population of 658 inhabitants. The capital is Caleta de Sebo
Caleta de Sebo

Caleta del Sebo, in the Canary Islands, is the main settlement and capital community of Graciosa, Canary Islands.The population is 656 , La Graciosa is included in the municipality of Teguise on Lanzarote....
, with 656 inhabitants.


El Hierro
El Hierro

El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is a Spain island. It is the smallest and furthest south and west of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa....
, the westernmost island, covers 268.71 km˛, making it the smallest of the major islands, and the least populated with 10,558 inhabitants. The whole island was declared Reserve of the Biosphere in 2000. Its capital is Valverde
Valverde

Valverde is a Provinces of the Dominican Republic of the Dominican Republic. It was split from Santiago, Dominican Republic in 1958....
.

La Gomera
La Gomera

La Gomera is the second-smallest of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is located at ....
, has an area of 369.76 km2 and is the third-least-populated island with 22,259 inhabitants. Geologically it is one of the oldest of the archipelago. The insular capital is San Sebastian de La Gomera
San Sebastián de La Gomera

San Sebasti?n de la Gomera is a town and also an administrative district on La Gomera in the Canary Islands. Its population is 2,176 , its density is 47.6/km? and the area is 114.78 km?....
. Garajonay's National Park is here.

Political geography

Canary Islands Map By William Dampier 1699   Project Gutenberg Etext 15675
The Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands consists of two provinces
Provinces of Spain

In addition to its Autonomous Communities, Spain is divided into fifty provinces.Formerly of greater importance, since the arrival of the Autonomous communities of Spain the provinces have had fewer powers....
, Las Palmas
Las Palmas (province)

Las Palmas is a province of Spain, consisting of the eastern part of the autonomous communities of Spain of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic Ocean archipelago, including the islands of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, as well as six isles of lesser importance ....
 and Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a Provinces of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous communities of Spain of the Canary Islands....
, whose capitals (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a Spain city on the island, Gran Canaria, which is one of the Canary Islands located 210 kilometers off the northwestern coast of the African continent within the Atlantic Ocean....
 and Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a city and a municipality on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the capital of the island, the second most populous in the Canary Islands, and the 21st largest city in Spain....
) are capitals of the autonomous community. Each of the seven major islands is ruled by an island council named cabildo insular.

The international boundary of the Canaries is the subject of dispute between Spain and Morocco. Morocco does not agree that the laws regarding territorial limits allow Spain to claim for itself seabed boundaries based on the territory of the Canaries, because the Canary Islands are autonomous. In fact, the islands do not enjoy any special degree of autonomy as each one of the Spanish regions is considered an autonomous community. Under the Law of the Sea
Law of the sea

Law of the sea may refer to:* United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea* Admiralty law* The Custom of the Sea...
, the only islands not granted territorial waters or an Exclusive Economic Zone
Exclusive Economic Zone

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an Exclusive Economic Zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine Natural resource....
 (EEZ) are those that are not fit for human habitation or do not have an economic life of their own, which is clearly not the case of the Canary Islands.

The boundary is relevant for possible seabed oil deposits and other ocean resource exploitation. Morocco therefore does not formally agree to the territorial boundary; it rejected a 2002 unilateral Spanish proposal.

The Islands have 13 seats in the Spanish Senate. Of these, 11 seats are directly elected, 3 for Gran Canaria, 3 for Tenerife, 1 for each other island; 2 seats are indirectly elected by the regional Autonomous Government. The local government is presided over by Paulino Rivero Baute.

Economy

The economy is based primarily on tourism
Tourism in Spain

Tourism in Spain was developed during the last years of Francisco Franco?s dictatorship, when the country became a popular place for summer holidays, especially for tourists from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Scandinavia....
, which makes up 32% of the GDP
Gross domestic product

File:GDP nominal per capita world map IMF 2008.pngThe gross domestic product or gross domestic income is one of the measures of national income and output for a given country's economy....
. The Canaries receive about 10 million tourists per year. Construction makes up nearly 20% of the GDP and tropical agriculture, primarily banana
Banana

File:Banana and cross section.jpgBanana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit....
s and tobacco
Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines....
, are grown for export to Europe and the Americas. Ecologists are concerned that the resources, especially in the more arid
Arid

A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the Individual growth and Morphogenesis of plant and animal life....
 islands, are being overexploited but there are still many agricultural resources like tomato
Tomato

The Tomato is an herbaceous, usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as are its close cousins Nicotiana, potatoes, aubergine , chilli peppers, and the poisonous Atropa belladonna....
es, potato
Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial plant Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family. The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well....
es, onion
Onion

Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa....
s, cochineal
Cochineal

'Cochineal' is a scale insect insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the crimson-colored dye, carmine, is derived. There are other species in the genus Dactylopius which can be used to produce cochineal extract, but they are extremely difficult to distinguish from D....
, sugarcane
Sugarcane

Sugarcane is a genus of 6 to 37 species of tall perennial plant Poaceae , native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World. They have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar and measure 2 to 6 meters tall....
, grape
Grape

File:Table grapes on white.jpgA grape is the non-Climacteric #In_botany fruit that grows on the Perennial plant and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis....
s, vine
Vine

A vine is any plant of genus Grape or, by extension, any similar climbing or trailing plant. The word, derived from Latin vinea, referred to the grape-bearing variety....
s, dates, oranges
Orange (fruit)

An orange?specifically, the sweet orange?is the citrus Citrus sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a Hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine ....
, lemon
Lemon

The lemon is the common name for Citrus limon. The reproductive tissue surrounds the seed of the angiosperm lemon tree. The lemon is used for culinary and nonculinary purposes throughout the world....
s, fig
FIG

FIG may refer to:* F?d?ration Internationale de Gymnastique* International Federation of Surveyors...
s, wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
, barley
Barley

Barley is an annual plant cereal grain derived from the grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food, as well as the making of alcoholic beverages beer and whisky....
, maize
Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
, apricot
Apricot

The Apricot is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation, but most likely in northern and western China and Central Asia, possibly also Korea and Japan....
s, peach
Peach

The peach is known as a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit also called a peach. It is a deciduous tree growing to 5?10 m tall, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae....
es and almond
Almond

The Almond is a species of tree of the genus Prunus, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae and native to the Middle East....
s.

The economy is
Euro

The euro is the official currency of 16 out of 27 European Union member state of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain....
 25 billion (2001 GDP figures). The islands experienced continuous growth during a 20 year period, up until 2001, at a rate of approximately 5% annually. This growth was fueled mainly by huge amounts of Foreign Direct Investment
Foreign direct investment

Foreign direct investment in its classic form is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country....
, mostly to develop tourism real estate (hotels and apartments), and European Funds (near 11 billion euro in the period from 2000 to 2007), since the Canary Islands are labelled Region Objective 1 (eligible for euro structural funds). Additionally, the EU allows the Canary Island's government to offer special tax concessions for investors who incorporate under the as Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC) regime and create more than 5 jobs.

The combination of high mountains, proximity to Europe, and clean air has made the Roque de los Muchachos
Roque de los Muchachos

Roque de los Muchachos is a the rocky mound at the highest point on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The rocks are found at an elevation of 2,423 m above sea level, not far from the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, where some of the world's largest telescopes are situated; the altitude and the dryness of the...
 peak (on La Palma island) a leading location for telescope
Telescope

A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects by the collection of electromagnetic radiation. The first known practically functioning telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century....
s like the Grantecan.

The islands are outside the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
 customs territory and VAT area, though politically within the EU. Instead of VAT there is a local Sales Tax (IGIC) which has a general rate of 5%, an increased tax rate of 12%, a reduced tax rate of 2% and a zero tax rate for certain basic need products and services (eg telecommunications). The ISO 3166-1 a-2
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2

ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standardization published by the International Organization for Standardization , to represent country, dependent territory, and special areas of geographical interest....
 code IC is reserved for representing them in customs affairs. Goods subject to Spanish customs and excise duties and Value Added Tax (VAT
Vat

Vat and VAT may refer to:* Value added tax* A type of Packaging and labelling such as a barrel , storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...
), such as tobacco
Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines....
 or electronic
Electronics

Electronics refers to the flow of charge through nonmetal electrical conductor , whereas electrical refers to the flow of charge through metal electrical conductor....
 goods, are therefore significantly cheaper in the Canaries. Spanish magazines usually have a similar or higher price than in the peninsula since VAT is substituted with air transport costs. The islands' country calling code is (+34) and the Internet country code
TLD

TLD is a three-letter acronym that may stand for:* Top-level domain — the last part of an Internet domain name* Tag Library Descriptor — an XML document that maps JavaServer Pages tags to their handlers or associated files....
 is the same as Spain's (.es). The currency is the euro
Euro

The euro is the official currency of 16 out of 27 European Union member state of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain....
.

Canarian time is Western European Time
Western European Time

Western European Time is the time zone covering parts of western and northwestern Europe, including the following countries and regions:*Canary Islands, since 1946 ...
 (WET) (or GMT
Greenwich Mean Time

Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to solar time at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in Greenwich, London. It is regularly used to refer to Coordinated Universal Time when this is viewed as a time zone, especially by bodies connected with the United Kingdom, such as the BBC World Service, the Royal Navy, the Met Office an...
; in summer one hour ahead of GMT). So Canarian time is one hour behind that of mainland Spain and the same as that of the British Isles and Portugal all year round.

Wildlife


Terrestrial wildlife

With a range of habitats, the Canary Islands exhibit diverse plant species. The bird life includes European and African species, such as the Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Black-bellied Sandgrouse

The Black-bellied Sandgrouse is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family.The nominate race breeds in Iberian peninsula, northwest Africa, the Canary Islands, Turkey Cyprus and Israel....
; and a rich variety of endemic (local) species including the:
  • Canary
    Canary

    The Canary , also called the Island Canary, Atlantic Canary or Common Canary, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Serinus in the finch family, Fringillidae....
  • Graja
    Graja

    The Graja, pronounced as ['graxa:] is a bird in the Corvidae family. It is a subspecies of the Red-billed Chough found on La Palma in the Canary Islands as well as in North Africa....
     (endemic to La Palma)
  • Blue Chaffinch
    Blue Chaffinch

    The Blue Chaffinch, Fringilla teydea, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird lives mainly in mountain Canary Island Pine forests on Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands....
  • Canary Islands Chiffchaff
    Canary Islands Chiffchaff

    The Canary Islands Chiffchaff is a species of leaf warbler Endemic to the Canary Islands, Spain....
  • Fuerteventura Chat
    Fuerteventura Chat

    The Fuerteventura Chat , or Fuerteventura Stonechat, was formerly known as the Canary Islands Chat due to its once widespread distubution on the Canary Islands....
  • Tenerife Goldcrest
    Tenerife Goldcrest

    The Tenerife Goldcrest, Regulus regulus teneriffae, is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family, closely resembling the Goldcrest but with a broader black band across the forehead, slightly darker underparts and a longer bill....
  • Madeira Firecrest
    Madeira Firecrest

    The Madeira Firecrest, Regulus madeirensis, is a very small passerine bird, between 8 and 8.5 centimetres long. It is endemic to the island of Madeira....
  • Bolle's Pigeon
    Bolle's Pigeon

    The Bolle's Pigeon is a member of the family Columbidae, doves and pigeons, which is endemic to the Canary Islands.It is a rare resident breeder in the mountain laurel forest zone....
  • Laurel Pigeon
    Laurel Pigeon

    The Laurel Pigeon is a member of the family Columbidae, doves and pigeons, which is endemic to the Canary Islands.A rare resident breeder in the mountain laurel forest zone, the Laurel Pigeon builds a stick nest in a tree....
  • Trocaz Pigeon
    Trocaz Pigeon

    The Trocaz Pigeon , or Madeira Laurel Pigeon, is a member of the family Columbidae which is endemic to Madeira.It is a scarce resident breeder in caves and on mountains in the laurisilva forest zone, where 10,000 birds remain....
  • Plain Swift
    Plain Swift

    The Plain Swift is a medium-sized swift. Although this bird is superficially similar to a Barn Swallow or House Martin, it is completely unrelated to those passerine species....
  • Houbara Bustard
    Houbara Bustard

    The Houbara Bustard, Chlamydotis undulata, is a large bird in the bustard family....


Terrestrial fauna includes gecko
Gecko

Geckos are small to average sized lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae which are found in warm climates throughout the world. Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalizations, making chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos....
s (such as the striped Canary Islands Gecko) and wall lizards, and three endemic species of recently rediscovered and critically endangered
Critically endangered

---- Organisms with a conservation status of critically endangered have an extremely high risk of becoming extinct....
 giant lizard: the El Hierro Giant Lizard
El Hierro Giant Lizard

Gallotia simonyi is a species of lacertid that can be found on the island of El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands. The species was once present throughout much of the island and on the small offshore Roque Chico de Salmor, but is now confined to a few small areas of cliff with sparse vegetation....
 (or Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard
Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard

The Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard was the nominate subspecies of the lacertid Gallotia simonyi. It was once present on a small islet near El Hierro in the Canary Islands....
), La Gomera Giant Lizard
La Gomera Giant Lizard

The La Gomera Giant Lizard is a lacertid species that can be found on the island of La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands.It is easily distinguishable from any other Gallotia by the intense white colour that covers its neck, chest and area around the mouth, in spectacular contrast to its dark brown back....
, and La Palma Giant Lizard
La Palma Giant Lizard

The La Palma Giant Lizard is a giant lacertid that, as its name indicates, lives in the littoral zone of La Palma in the Canary Islands; its habitat ranged from sea level up to altitudes of 800 m....
. Mammals include the Canarian Shrew
Canarian Shrew

The Canarian Shrew is a species of mammal in the Soricidae family. It is Endemism to the Canary Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss....
, Canary Big-Eared Bat
Canary Big-eared Bat

This article was auto-generated by...
, the Algerian Hedgehog
Algerian Hedgehog

The North African Hedgehog , or Algerian Hedgehog, is a species of mammal in the Erinaceidae family. It is found in Algeria, France, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and Tunisia....
 (which may have been introduced) and the more recently introduced Mouflon
Mouflon

The mouflon , sometimes known as the Cyprus mouflon, is a subspecies group of the wild ovis Ovis orientalis. Populations of Ovis orientalis can be partitioned into the mouflons or milligans and urials or arkars ....
. Some endemic mammals, the Lava Mouse
Lava Mouse

The Lava Mouse, Malpaisomys insularis, is an extinct endemic rodent from the Canary Islands, Spain. It is the only species in the genus Malpaisomys....
 and Canary Islands Giant Rat
Canary Islands Giant Rat

The Canary Islands Giant Rat was endemic to the island of Gran Canaria, part of the Canary Islands, Spain.This rodent is only known from fossil remains....
, are extinct, as are the Canary Islands Quail
Canary Islands Quail

The Canary Islands Quail once occurred on the islands of El Hierro, La Palma, Tenerife and Fuerteventura . It might also have inhabited Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, but there are no remains found on these islands....
, Long-legged Bunting
Long-legged Bunting

The Long-legged Bunting is an extinct flightless bird species of Bunting . It was distinguishable by its long legs and short wings, and it inhabited the Canary Islands....
, and the Eastern Canary Islands Chiffchaff
Eastern Canary Islands Chiffchaff

The Eastern Canary Islands Chiffchaff or Lanzarote Island Chiffchaff was a subspecies of the Canary Islands Chiffchaff endemic to the island of Lanzarote - and possibly also Fuerteventura - in the Canary Islands, Spain....
.

Marine life

Caretta Caretta 060417w2
The Marine life found in the Canary Islands is also varied, being a combination of North Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
 and endemic species. In recent years, the increasing popularity of both scuba diving
Scuba diving

SCUBA diving is Underwater diving, or taking part in another activity, while using a scuba set. By carrying a source of breathing gas , the scuba diver is able to stay underwater longer than with the simple breath-holding techniques used in snorkeling and free-diving, and is not hindered by air lines to a remote air source....
 and underwater photography
Underwater photography

Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while snorkeling or swimming....
 have provided biologists with much new information on the marine life of the islands.

Fish
Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
 species found in the islands include many species of shark
Shark

Sharks are a type of fish with a full Cartilage skeleton and a highly Streamlines, streaklines and pathlinesd body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits....
, ray
Batoidea

Batoidea is a superorder of Chondrichthyes containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families. They are commonly known as rays, but that term is also used specifically for batoids in the order Rajiformes, the "true rays"....
, moray eel
Moray eel

Moray eels are large cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera. The typical length of a moray is 1.5 m , with the largest being the slender giant moray, Strophidon sathete, at up to 4 m ....
, bream
Sparidae

The Sparidae is a family of fish, included in the order Perciformes. The fish of the family are commonly called breams and porgies ....
, jack
Carangidae

Carangidae is a family of fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, and scads.They are marine fish found in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, grunt, scorpionfish
Scorpionfish

Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfish, are a family of mostly ocean fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As the name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus....
, triggerfish
Triggerfish

Triggerfishes are brightly colored fish of the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit warm coastal waters of the Atlantic, Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific....
, grouper
Grouper

For other meanings, see Grouper .Groupers are fish of any of a number of genus in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes....
, goby
Goby

The gobies form the family Gobiidae, which is one of the largest families of fish, with more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most are relatively small, typically less than 10 cm in length....
, and blenny. In addition, there are many invertebrate species including sponge, jellyfish
Jellyfish

Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. They have several different morphologies that represent several different cnidarian classes including the Scyphozoa , Staurozoa , Cubozoa , and Hydrozoa ....
, anemone
Anemone

Anemone , is a genus of about 120 species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae in the north and south temperate zones. They are closely related to Pasque flowers and Hepaticas ; some botanists include both of these genera within Anemone....
, crab
Crab

Crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax....
, mollusc, sea urchin
Sea urchin

Sea urchins are small, spiny, globular creatures that compose most of class Echinoidea. They are found in oceans all over the world. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from 3 to 10 cm across....
, starfish, sea cucumber
Sea cucumber

Holothuroidea is a class of marine animals with an elongated body and leathery skin, which is found on the sea floor worldwide. Many holothurian species and genera, informally known as sea cucumbers, are targeted for human consumption....
 and coral
Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
.

There are a total of 5 different species of marine turtle that are sighted periodically in the islands, the most common of these being the endangered Loggerhead Turtle. The other four are the Green, Hawksbill
Hawksbill turtle

The hawksbill turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean subspecies....
, Leatherback and Kemp's Ridley Turtle
Kemp's Ridley

'Kemp's Ridley' is a endangered species species of sea turtle. It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys, the other one being L....
. Currently, there are no signs that any of these species breed in the islands, and so those seen in the water are usually migrating. However, it is believed that some of these species may have bred in the islands in the past, and there are records of several sightings of leatherback turtle on beaches in Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura, a Spain island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28?20' north, 14?00' west....
, adding credibility to the theory.

Marine mammals include the Short-Finned Pilot Whale
Short-finned Pilot Whale

The Short-finned Pilot Whale is one of the two species of cetacean in the genus Globicephala. It is part of the oceanic dolphin family , though its behaviour is closer to that of the larger whales....
, Common
Common dolphin

The Common Dolphin is the name given to up to three species of dolphin making up the genus Delphinus.Prior to the mid-1990s, most taxonomy only recognised one species in this genus, the Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis....
 and Bottlenose
Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins....
 dolphins. The Canary Islands were also formerly home to a population of the rarest Pinniped
Pinniped

Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae ....
 in the world, the Mediterranean Monk Seal
Mediterranean Monk Seal

The Mediterranean Monk Seal is a pinniped belonging to the Phocidae family: at some 350-450 remaining individuals it is believed to be the world's rarest pinniped and one of the most endangered mammals of the world....
.

Sports

A unique form of wrestling known as Canarian Wrestling (lucha canaria) has opponents stand in a special area called a "terrero" and try to throw each other to the ground using strength and quick movements.

Another sport is the "game of the sticks" where opponents fence with long sticks. This may have come about from the shepherds of the islands who would challenge each other using their long walking sticks. Another sport is called the Shepard's jump. This involves using a long stick to vault over an open area. This sport possible evolved from the shepard's need to occassionally get over an open area in the hills as they were tending their sheep.

Notable Sports Athletes

One native of the Canary Islands played Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of play in American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between them since 1903 ....
: Alfredo Cabrera
Al Cabrera

Alfredo A. Cabrera was a former Major League Baseball shortstop.He played his one and only major league game on May 16, 1913. He went a disappointing 0-2 at the plate in that game....
, born there in 1881; he played shortstop
Shortstop

Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions between second base and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly, so more balls go to the sho...
 for the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the National League Central in the National League of Major League Baseball....
 in 1913.

Another native of the Canary Islands plays in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is North America's premier professional men's basketball league, composed of thirty teams: twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada....
 today: Sergio Rodríguez
Sergio Rodríguez

Sergio Rodr?guez is a Spain professional basketball player. He is a member of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association....
, born there in 1986; he plays point guard
Point guard

Point guard , also called the one or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. Point guards are often the smallest players on the court ....
 for the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon, Oregon....
.

See also


Science

  • Science in the Canary Islands
    Science in the Canary Islands

    Scientific tourism in the Canaries started soon after the visits of Christopher Columbus in the 1490s....

History

  • Canary Islands in pre-colonial times
    Canary Islands in Pre-colonial times

    The Canary Islands have been known since ancient history; the islands themselves are estimated to be 30 million years old.. The Canaries were populated by an indigenous people called the Guanches, whose origin is still the subject of discussion among historians and linguists....
  • Guanches
    Guanches

    Guanches , now extinct as a distinct people, were the first known inhabitants of the Canary Islands, having migrated to the archipelago sometime between 1000 BC and 100 BC....
  • Pyramids of Güímar
    Pyramids of Güímar

    The Pyramids of Guimar refer to six rectangular pyramid-shaped, terraced structures, built from lava stone without the use of mortar. They are located in the district of Chacona, part of the town of G??mar on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands....
  • Jean de Béthencourt
    Jean de Béthencourt

    Jean de B?thencourt , was a France explorer who, in 1402, led an expedition to the Canary Islands, landing first on the north side of Lanzarote....
  • Gadifer de la Salle
    Gadifer de la Salle

    Gadifer de La Salle was a French soldier of Normans origin who, with Jean de B?thencourt, conquered and explored the Canary Islands for the Kingdom of Castile....
  • First Battle of Acentejo
    First Battle of Acentejo

    The First Battle of Acentejo was a battle that took place on the island of Tenerife between the Guanches and an alliance of Spaniards, other Europeans, and associated natives , on May 31, 1494, during the Spanish conquest of this island....
  • Second Battle of Acentejo
    Second Battle of Acentejo

    The Second Battle of Acentejo was a battle that took place on December 25, 1495, between the invading Spain forces and the natives of the island of Tenerife, known as Guanches....
  • Alonso Fernández de Lugo
    Alonso Fernández de Lugo

    Javier Alonso Luis Fern?ndez de Lugo was a Spain military man, conquistador, city founder, and administrator. He conquered the islands of La Palma and Tenerife for the Kingdom of Castile; they were the last of the Canary Islands to be conquered by Europeans....
  • Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)
    Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)

    The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was an amphibious assault by the Royal Navy on the Spain port city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands....
  • Tanausu
    Tanausu

    Tanausu was the Guanches ruler of Acer?, on the island of La Palma , whose defeat by the Crown of Castile marked the final conquest of that island....
  • Tenerife disaster
    Tenerife disaster

    In 1977 two Boeing 747 airliners collided on the runway of Los Rodeos Airport on the Spanish island of Tenerife, resulting in the deaths of 583 people, making it the worst accident in aviation history....
    ; prior to the 9/11 attacks, the deadliest commercial aviation disaster
    Aviation accidents and incidents

    An aviation accident is roughly defined in the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, in which a person is fatally or seriously injur...
     in history.
  • San Andrés
    San Andrés, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

    San Andr?s is a town located in the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It is located 10 km from the capital city if Santa Cruz de Tenerife, it is in a coastal area and is located by the Macizo de Anaga mountains....


Geography

  • La Matanza de Acentejo, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
  • Los Llanos de Aridane
    Los Llanos de Aridane

    Los Llanos de Aridane is both a municipality and a town in the Canary Islands on the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife ....
  • Macaronesia
    Macaronesia

    Macaronesia is a modern collective name for several groups of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa belonging to three countries: Portugal, Spain, and Cape Verde....
  • Orotava Valley
    Orotava Valley

    The greenish and fruitful Orotava Valley is a beautiful valley filled with gullies and cliffs located in the northern part of the Canary island of Tenerife, in Spain....
  • Guatiza
    Guatiza

    Guatiza is a Canarian community that is located in the northeastern part of the municipality of Teguise, Las Palmas in the northeastern portion of the island of Lanzarote in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands and is the northernmost in the Canary Islands as well as the easternmost....
     (Lanzarote)
  • Cumbre Vieja
    Cumbre Vieja

    Cumbre Vieja is an active volcano ridge on the volcanic ocean island of Isla de La Palma in the Canary Islands.This ridge trends in an approximate north-south direction and covers the southern third of the island....
    , a volcano
    Volcano

    A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
     on La Palma
  • Tourism in the Canary Islands
    Tourism in the Canary Islands

    Tourism is an essential part of the economy of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the west coast of Africa. Seven main islands and six islets make up the Canary Islands....

Culture

  • Canarian cuisine
    Canarian cuisine

    Canarian cuisine refers to the typical dishes and ingredients in the cuisine of the Canary Islands. These include plentiful fish, generally roasted, Canarian wrinkly potatoes , mojo s , and wine from the malvasia....
  • Military of the Canary Islands
    Military of the Canary Islands

    The Canary Islands are an autonomous communities of Spain of Spain. The following components of the Spanish Armed Forces comprise the military of the Canary Islands....
  • Salto del pastor (Canary Islands mountain gymnastic folk sport
    Sport

    Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of regulation of sport or traditions and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports and motor...
    )
  • Silbo Gomero language, a whistled language
    Whistled language

    Whistled languages use whistling to emulate speech and facilitate communication. A whistled language is a system of whistled communication which allows fluent whistlers to transmit and comprehend a potentially unlimited number of messages over long distances....
    , is an indigenous language, whose existence was known since Roman times.
  • Isleńos
  • Music of the Canary Islands
    Music of the Canary Islands

    The Canary Islands used to be inhabited by the Guanches which are related to Berber people; they mixed with Spaniards, who live on the islands now. A variant of Jota is popular, as is Latin music, which has left its mark in the form of the timple guitar....
  • Virgin of Candelaria
    Virgin of Candelaria

    The cult of the Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candelaria , popularly called La Morenita, celebrates an Marian apparition on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands....
     (Saint Patron of Canary Islands)


Neighbours

  • Azores
    Azores

    The Azores is a Portugal archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from Lisbon and about 3,900 km from the east coast of North America....
  • Cape Verde
    Cape Verde

    The Republic of Cape Verde , is an archipelago nation located in the Macaronesia ecoregion of the North Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of Africa....
  • Madeira
    Madeira

    Madeira is a Portugal archipelago in the north Atlantic Ocean that lies between and . It is one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only inhabited islands....
  • Morocco
    Morocco

    Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
  • Western Sahara
    Western Sahara

    Western Sahara is a territory of North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west....


Natural history

See:- Borgesen, F. 1929. Marine algae from the Canary Islands. III Rhodophyceae. Part II. Cryptonemiales
Cryptonemiales

The Cryptonemiales is a defunct algal order; it is synonymous with the Halymenialesand has significant overlap with the Nemastomatales....
, Gigartinales, and Rhodymeniales. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Biologiske Meddelelser. 8: 1 — 97.

External links