Lanzarote (Canary Islands)
L.to be displayed is one of the Autonomous Communities of Spain. The island is located in the Atlantic Ocean, Lanzarote is one of the seven main islands of the Canary Islands. Lanzarote the most northeastern island of theCanary Islands. The Moroccan coast is much closer to the island than mainland Spain. Morocco is only 140 kilometers away, while mainland Spain is around 1,000 kilometers. Lanzarote is easy to reach through the island’s airport of Arrecife. Lanzarote has an area of 845.94 square kilometers. In 1993 UNESCO named the island a biosphere reserve. This made Lanzarote the first complete island to receive this honor and the associated protection.
Landscapes of Lanzarote
Lanzarote has a wonderful coastal region. However, the 213 kilometers of coastline have only 10 kilometers of sandy beaches. The rest is pebble beach or rock. The Famara massif and Los Ajaches are the highest peaks on the island.
Behind the Famara massif is the El Jable sand desert. The last active volcanoes erupted particularly vigorously from 1730 to 1736 and 1824. During the last eruption, the lava poured over large parts of the farmland and buried villages and farms with a total of 420 houses.
The history of Lanzarote
It is believed that Lanzarote was the first populated island in the Canaries. The Phoenicians were probably the first group of people to settle here. This must have been around 1100 BC. Have been.
It is not clear today whether the Phoenicians lived here or only visited the island now and then. The writers and philosophers Herodotus, Plato and Plutarch told in their stories of the garden of the Hesperides, of the land of fertility, where fruit and flowers smell in the breeze of the Atlantic wind. These and similar quotes indicate that Lanzarote can be meant. But whether this really means Lanzarote is of course no longer verifiable.
What is certain, however, is that a first expedition to the Canary Islands and thus also to Lanzarote, by King Juba II took place. He had all the findings recorded. So it is still understandable today that the men must have arrived here back then. Today, based on these records, it is assumed that the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote were connected to each other at that time. Both are only mentioned together as one island.
From archaeological finds we know today that from the 1st century BC Christ must have been a Roman on the island of Lanzarote. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Lanzarote fell into oblivion. In the year 999 AD the explorer Ben Farraoukh reached the islands and “discovered” them again. The Arabs called the Canary Islands “Happy Islands”.
In 1336 a fleet set out from Lisbon to explore the outer regions known in Europe. These were then on the northwest African coast. The expedition was led by Lanzarote de Framaqua, also known as Lancelotto Malocello. He never arrived at his destination, but rediscovered the Canary Islands and emigrated to Lanzarote. The Canaries have been discovered several times in their history.
From Lanzarote several attempts were made by immigrants to take over the other islands in the course of further history. Almost everyone realized that they did not have the resources or the teams to make this happen.
Today Lanzarote is one popular island for vacationers and holidaymakers. The great beach areas, the wonderful water and the pleasant climate, together with the many sights from bygone times, make a relaxing stay possible.
Tenerife (Canary Islands)
Tenerife is part of Spain and the largest of the Canary Islands. A proud 80 kilometers in length and 50 kilometers in width are the dimensions of the island, which are dream like landscapes and has a very nice climate.
Around 900,000 people currently live on the archipelago. So Tenerife is the island with the largest population. The residents are also called Tinerfenos. The capital of Tenerife is Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Tenerife is made up of volcanic rock. It is a volcanic island and is located in front of thecoast Morocco. The Western Sahara is the nearest neighbor on the African continent. Mainland Spain is 1,300 kilometers from Tenerife.
Tenerife is particularly popular with holidaymakers. Many tourists visit the island every year to take advantage of the balanced climate for a holiday. The gastronomic and tourist facilities represent an important source of income for the population of Tenerife.
Archaeologists assume that Tenerife was formed about five million years ago as a result of a volcanic eruption. The oldest part of Tenerife is in the Anaga Mountains in the northeast of the island. The inner part is younger and consists of a volcanic massif. When flying over the island, one can observe a peculiarity. The mountain areas look like a Y from up there. Volcanic activity is still occurring. The last time a volcano erupted on Tenerife was in 1909 between the Teide massif and the Teno mountains.
Flora and fauna of Tenerife
The flora of Tenerife is rich, lush and extremely diverse. Many of the local plant species are only found in the Canary Islands, some of them exclusively in Tenerife. The predominant tree in the large forest areas is the Canarian pine. The large occurrence of the Canary Island dragon tree is particularly characteristic of the island. A particularly important and impressive one of this type is at Icod de los Vinos. He is particularly old. In addition, many plants that are common all over the world can be found on Tenerife. The American wild cacti are such. Also huge bushes of the Christmas star flourish beautifully here.
It is more typical for the marine region of Tenerife that there are hardly any mammal species. Some rabbits have been released into the wild. A few forest cats also live in the Teide area. However, there were never any snakes or wild predators in Tenerife. And so it has remained until today. The animal world consists for the most part of marine life.
The rural dwellers are predominantly birds. Many migratory birds stop in Tenerife. In addition to these feathered friends, there are other winged animals. The butterflies are rich in species here. Among other things, there is the Canary Whites, the Canary Admiral and the Canary Forest board game.
The pilot whale occurs very often here. This species of whale can survive at a depth of up to 2,000 meters; it is often found in the strait between Tenerife and Gomera. This large population of whales cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Economy in Tenerife
In addition to agriculture and tourism, Tenerife has developed industrially in recent years. Especially the air traffic is important to the island. Historically, however, this is associated with a terrible misfortune. On March 27, 1977, two jumbo jets collided at Los Rodeos Airport. This catastrophe resulted in 583 deaths and is still considered to be the greatest aircraft accident in the entire history of aviation.
