Main article: Spain
The Canaries are part of Spain, but Morocco from the very beginning of its independence, gained in 1956, claims these islands, as well as the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
Islands
Geographically, the Canary Islands are part of a group of volcanic islands along with the Azores, Cape Verde Islands and Madeira, collectively known as Macaronesia.
The Canary archipelago includes seven large islands.
Lanzarote
Lanzarote (795 km ²) gained fame as Isla del Fuego, or Fire Island. There are almost 300 volcanic peaks on the territory of 795 sq. km. In the fall of 1730, lava and hot ash began to break out of thirty craters at the same time. The eruption lasted six years and as a result, a third of the island became covered with lifeless basalt and ash. The next eruption occurred in the 19th century. A ridge of volcanic cones resembling lunar mountains has grown in the center of the island. Lava comes very close to the surface and at a depth of several meters the temperature reaches several hundred degrees.
Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura Island (1659 km ²) - the second largest and longest island of the archipelago stretches 97 km between Punta de la Tinosa in the north and Punta de Handia in the south. Most of the island is covered with frozen lava of black, pink, purple and buffy tones. Many corners of Fuerteventura, including sand dunes and rocky mountain ranges, resemble the Western Sahara, which lies only 100 km east of the island.
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria Island is the third largest island in the archipelago (1532 km ²).
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island. From the language of the Guanches - the ancient inhabitants of the island - its name is translated as "snow mountain," which means a volcano. Teide Its height is 3715 meters, so in winter the peak of the volcano is covered with a snow cap. Teide is Spain the highest point in and all islands in. Atlantic Ocean Thanks to the volcano, Tenerife ranks tenth in the list of the highest islands in the world. If you measure the height of Teide from its base under water, then it can be called the third highest volcano in the world with an indicator of 7,500 meters.
La Gomera
To the west are the islands of La Gomera (378 km ²) with bright landscapes. Deep gorges, mountain peaks, fog-shrouded laurel forests and terraced valleys all make up for the lack of long sandy beaches.
La Palma
La Palma (708 km ²) is the fifth largest island in the archipelago. It can claim the title of one of the most mountainous islands in the world, referring to the ratio of height and area of its territory. The highest point of the island is Mount Rock de los Muchachos, 2423 m above sea level, on which the astrophysical observatory is located. Its black lava fields and reddish-brown volcanic cliffs contrast with the riotous vegetation of the rest of the island.
El Hierro
El Hierro (El Hierro, 277 km ²) is the westernmost and smallest island of the Canary archipelago. In its center is a mountain plateau with the highest point of Malpaso (Malpaso) 1501 m. Sheer cliffs descend from the plateau to the sea. The exception is the small El Golfo Bay, which is led by a forest-covered gentle descent of 14 kilometers. The island's unusual abris is the result of a massive earthquake that shook El Hierro about 50,000 years ago. Then the third part of the island fell off the north side and was absorbed by the ocean, forming El Golfo Bay. The last eruption on this mountainous island occurred more than 200 years ago.
Small Islands
Of the six small islets, only the island of Gracios (27 km ²) is inhabited. To the east are the islands:
- Alegranza (10 km ²),
- Montagna Clara (1 km ²),
- Lobos (6 km ²),
- Roque del Oeste and Roque del Este.
Winds and currents
Main article: Atlantic Ocean
The Canary Islands are blown by northerly winds and cold currents.
History
2022: Dangerous mosquito found in Canaries - vector of viral diseases
In December 2022, an Aedes aegypti mosquito, a common vector of some viral diseases, including the Zika virus, was discovered in one of the houses on the island of Tenerife - and therefore this mosquito is often called the Zika mosquito in common parlance.
Aedes aegypti is a black mosquito with stripes smaller than ordinary mosquitoes in the archipelago, which appears more often in urban conditions and over time has adapted to breed in small artificial reservoirs.
The area where the mosquito was found was surrounded by a perimeter to conduct inspection work and locate possible breeding sites, if any. A plant that was in the house as a possible nursery was also identified.
1960s: Mass tourism boom
The boom in mass tourism in the 1960s brought prosperity to the island of Gran Canaria. However, well-being depends on the influx of foreign visitors, and environmental damage from tourism is expensive.
1928
19th century: Gran Canaria regains ground by fueling steamboats
Only at the end of the 19th century did Gran Canaria regain its position. The importance of the island as a refueling port for steamboats led to investment from foreign merchants, including the British.
1758: Augustine de Betancourt, future Minister of Railways of the Russian Empire, was born in Tenerife
In 1778, at the age of 20, Augustine de Betancourt left the Canary Islands forever and went to Madrid. Since 1808, he was in the service of the Russian emperor Alexander I.
Since 1816, Betancourt served as chairman of the committee on city buildings in St. Petersburg.
In 1819 he became director of the Main Directorate of Railways and, by position, became a member of the Committee of Ministers of the Russian Empire. He served in this post until August 2, 1822.
He died in 1824 and was buried at the Smolensk Lutheran cemetery in St. Petersburg.
1730: Large-scale volcanic eruptions cover a third of Lancerote Island with basalt and ash
Between 1730 and 1736, many volcanoes erupted on the island, as a result of which a third of the island became covered with lifeless basalt and ash.
The rise of the Gran Canaria economy on sugar exports
The city of Las Palmas became the seat of the bishop and royal court of the Canary Islands, as well as an intermediate port on the way from Europe to the Americas. Gran Canaria's economy received an additional boost through sugar exports and transatlantic trade. However, as demand for sugar fell, the island declined in comparison to its main rival, the wine supplier the island of Tenerife.
Many Canarians subsequently immigrated to South America, beginning the strong affinity between the two cultures that is still evident today.
1478: Spaniards destroy Guanche culture. Invasion of settlers from all over Europe
In 1478, despite stubborn resistance, the Guanche culture was practically destroyed by the Spaniards.
The island of Gran Canaria was soon colonized by a motley group of adventurers and landless settlers from Galicia,,, Andalusia,,, and Portugal Italy France Netherlands even. Britain Ireland
1405: Betancourt and La Salle capture the islands of Fuerteventura and Hierro
In 1405, Jean de Betancourt and his partner and rival La Salle captured the islands of Fuerteventura and Hierro.
1404: Betancourt and La Salle conquer the first Canary island - Lanzarote
In 1402-1404, Lanzarote became the first island conquered by Europeans. The invaders were the Franco-Norman knights who recognized the suzerainty of the king of Castile: Baron Jean IV de Betancourt and Gadifer de La Salle.
French Baron Jean de Betancourt, who owned textile and paint manufactories. The Canary Islands, still free of European influence at that time, could become a source of raw materials for them. Through his uncle Robert da Bracemon, he managed to obtain permission from the Castilian king Enrique III to conquer the Canary Islands in exchange for taking a vassal oath.
The expedition set out from La Rochelle and after stops in Galicia and Cadiz in the summer of 1402 arrived in Lanzarote. The Aborigines and their chief Gadarfia were unable to resist the invaders and surrendered. The Normans settled in the southern part of the island, where they built a fortification and established the Canary bishopric.
1312: Genoese traveller Lancerotto arrives on the island of Tit-Roy-Gatra (Lanzarote)
Malocello Lancerotto went in search of the brothers Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi, who were in the Canary Islands in 1291 on the way to India, and whose fate was unknown. Malocello arrived on the islands in 1312, and remained there for almost two decades until he was expelled by the Guanche uprising. Information about this uprising is scarce, but his stay on the island is confirmed by various sources, including the chronicles of Jean de Betancourt, written almost a century later, and which say that the fortress built by Malocello could still be found on the island. The fortress of Malocello was located higher and not far from modern Tegise.
During the appearance of Malocello on the island, he was ruled by a king named Zonzamas. He was succeeded by his daughter Iko with his husband Guanarteme. Their son Guadarfia was the ruler of the island, who met the expedition of Jean de Betancourt in 1402.
1150: Guanchi in Tenerife, Mahorers, Bimbache, Aurites and other Aboriginal tribes
Guanchi (from Guancinet - people of Tenerife) is a household name for the indigenous population of the Canary Islands. In reality, this name belongs only to the natives of Tenerife, where the surname Guancha is still found. The inhabitants of other Canary Islands were called Mahorers, Bimbache, Aurites, etc. They differed markedly in their cultural traditions.
There was no dense relationship between the Canary Islands until the 15th century, each island lived on its own. The Guanches spoke Guanches (Canary) languages. Mahorers, Bimbache, Aurites, Guanchi proper and others spoke related, although not identical languages, which are most likely close to the Berber languages (Afrasian family of languages) of the neighboring continent.
1000 BC: Guangchi arrive on Tamaran Island (Gran Canaria)
Gran Canaria Island has historically been home to waves of settlers.
The first settlers to arrive, possibly as early as 1000 BC, were the Guanches, who were most likely migrants from North Africa and named Tamaran Island after date palms (tamars) found here.
170 thousand hp: The beginning of the formation of the Teide volcano in Tenerife after a volcanic landslide
Main article: Teide
The formation of the Teide volcano began 170 thousand years ago as a result of volcanic activity that followed the catastrophic volcanic landslide. Read more here.
22 million hp: The appearance of the first island - Fuerteventura over the hot spot
Although most volcanic activity on Earth is associated with subduction zones or mid-ocean ridges, there are significant areas of long-lasting extensive volcanism known as hot spots that are only indirectly associated with plate tectonics. Many hotspots of varying sizes and ages have been discovered around the world. These hotspots move slowly relative to each other, but are an order of magnitude faster relative to tectonic plates, suggesting that they are not directly related to tectonic plates.
The origin of the hotspots remains controversial. Hot spots reaching the Earth's surface can have three different sources. The deepest probably originate at the boundary between the lower mantle and the nucleus; approximately 15-20% have characteristics such as the presence of a linear chain of sea mountains with increasing age. Others, such as the Pitcairn, Samoan and Tahiti hotspots, appear to emerge on top of large, temporary, hot lava domes (called ultra-high bursts) in the mantle. The remainder appears to originate in the upper mantle and is hypothesized to result from the destruction of the subducting lithosphere.
(the most active dots are highlighted in red)]]
One of these points, located near the archipelago, contributed to the formation of the Canary Islands. As the oceanic floor shifts from east to west, the easternmost islands, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, first emerged. Therefore, Jerro, the westernmost island, is the youngest.
One of the main reasons the oldest Canary Islands remain above water level is because the oceanic crust on which they are located has a low sedimentation rate due to its relative strength and thickness as a result of continuous precipitation from the African continent. If this were not the case, then all islands except Hierro and Palma would have submerged under water millions of years ago.
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