Canary-Islands-Holiday.com

Welcome to Canary-Islands-Holiday.com! The Canary Islands are a group of islands consisting of seven main islands in the Atlantic ocean in mid latitudes just off the west coast of North Africa.In order of size these are Tenerife,Fuerteventura,Gran Canary,Lanzarote,La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro.The Canary Islands are directly in the path of the North East trade winds ,the very same winds that led to the discovery and development of the Canary Islands and the colonisation of the Americas in the 15th century.The Islands are also influenced by the cold Canary Current.The combination of these factors ensures a spring-like climate all year round which of course has been the major factor in ensuring their popularity as a holiday destination. The Canary Islands were called the Fortunate Isles on 15th century maps but were called Canaries because of the large breed of wild dog that inhabited Gran Canaria (Canis Latin for Dog) and not after the song bird of the same name.

Geologically,the Canary Islands are the result of volcanic activity that took place originally around the time the Atlantic Ocean was formed roughly 150 million years ago.The Earth`s crust was weakened by the African plate moving away from the South American plate resulting in what modern geologists call a volcanic "Hot Spot." The sea is quite shallow here being part of the African continental shelf. All of the Canary Islands are basically peaks of molten magma subsequently cooled and eroded over millions of years. These layers of volcanic rock are interspersed with layers of sedimentary rocks resulting from deposition from rivers from South America and Africa and the dead bodies of countless millions living organisms that have lived and died in these Oceans.The Canarie`s Archipelago is still volcanically active with current activities in and around El Hierro which is roughly 60 miles from Tenerife and one of the smaller of the best known seven Canary Islands.

Geological experts are of the opinion that La Palma , the most westerly of the Canary Islands could erupt at any time and the consequences could result in a Tsunami that would reach the eastern seaboard of the USA .There has been volcanic activity on Tenerife in the 20nth century, Fuerteventura in the 19th century , and most famously Lanzarote in the 18th century when 6 years of volcanic activity resulted in almost a third of the island being buried under a sea of molten lava with the loss of 13 villages and fertile farmng land. The Timanfaya National Park  is the most visitied attraction on Lanzarote. The park was named after Timanfaya one of the villages lost under 13 metres of lava. In recent months there has been undersea magma release south of El Hierro which may build to form a new island addition to the Canaries.

The Canary Islands consist of seven main Islands but there are some others worthy of mention. Graciosa is part of Lanzarote , seperated by a strait just over a mile wide. You can take a ferry here from Orzola. There are no roads so therefore no vehicles on the island. It can be walked in just over an hour and a half right round.There is also Isla de Lobos which is part of Fuerteventura.this is a nature reserve and visitors can get here via boat from Corralejo.Alegranza is the other island and then there are Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste which are basically rocky outcrops.The islands were only really discovered when the Spanish became a great naval power in the 15th century.They were then colonised and the small indigenous populations of North African stock were eliminated.The Canary Islands then became an important strategic location for the colonisation of the Americas.Farming and stock rearing and fishing were the mainstays for economic growth.Gran Canary and Tenerife were able to grow lush tropical fruits whilst Fuerteventura became the granary of Spain.Viewing Fuerteventura today it is hard to believe except for the tell tale remnants of windmills used for grinding the grain to be found all over the island.

Today the Canary Islands are a tourist hotspot for all of Europe and beyond.The Islands really took off as holiday destinations with the advent of the package holiday and cheap air fares from the 1960s onward. Tenerife and Gran Canary were first to obtain the benefits of foreign holidaymakers followed by Lanzarote and more recently Fuerteventura and the smaller islands which really cater for a more discerning traveller. Development was swift and some say Tenerife and Gran Canaria have been spolied by over development. In Lanzarote the native artist and ecologist Cesar Manrique made sure a similar fate was not in store for his beloved Island. Fuerteventura is a very large and development is limited by the ruggedness of most of the island so thus far over developoment has not been an issue here either.