Lanzarote
Encyclopedia : L : LA : LAN : Lanzarote
- Lanzarote is also the title of a novella by Michel Houellebecq, translated into English by Frank Wynne
| Lanzarote | |
|---|---|
| |
| Elevation: | Famara (671 m) |
| Latitude: | 29° N |
| Longitude: | 13.667° W (13°40' W) |
| Location: | northeastern and eastern Canary Islands, Spain |
| Area: | 845.9 km² |
| Type: | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption: | 1824 in Tiagua |
| First ascent: | N/A |
| Easiest route: | climb |
Lanzarote, a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean ca. 125 km off the coast of Africa as well as 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. It is situated at 29°00' north, 13°40' west. It is located 11 km NE of Fuerteventura and only 1 km from Graciosa. The first recorded name for the island, given by Angelino Dulcert, was Insula de Lanzarotus Marocelus, after the Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello, from which the modern name is derived. The island's Guanche name was Tite-Roy-Gatra, which may mean "the red mountains."
The elongated island has an area of 845,9 km², and a population of around 125,000. The dimensions of the island are 60 km from north to south and 25 km from west to east. Lanzarote has 213 km of coastline, of which 10 km are sand, 16.5 km are beach, and the remainder are rocky. Its dramatic landscape includes the mountain ranges of Famara (671 m) in the north and Ajaches (608 m) to the south. South of the Famara massif is the El Jable desert which separates Famara and Montañas del Fuego. Tourism has been the mainstay of the island's economy for the past 50 years. Other industries include agriculture.
The island has its own international airport, Arrecife Airport, which receives around 5.5 million passengers per year.
It is part of the province of Las Palmas, and is divided into seven municipalities:
A nearby island, Isla de La Graciosa, is part of the municipality of Teguise, as are four smaller islets.
The seat of the island government (cabildo insular) is in Arrecife, which has a population of 47,100 (2004).
A total of 114,715 people (2003) live on Lanzarote.
The flag color is red and blue split diagonally from top-left to bottom-right.
Geography
Its mountains include Montañas del Fuego located in the Timanfaya National Park. The tallest mountain is Peñas del Chache elevating 670 m above sea level. The island is under protection as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. It has the largest submerged volcanic tunnel in the world and is the "Tunnel of Atlantis".
Geology
Lanzarote is a beautiful island that is of volcanic origin. The island was created about 35 million years ago. Alfred Wegener arrived in 1912 and studied the island with the continental drift. The island along with others was created after the breakup of the African and the American continental plates.
Climate
Lanzarote's climate ranges from mild to hot during the year. Temperatures in the summer are between 30°C and 35°C during the day and about 20°C at night. Its winter daytime temperature is between 20°C and 25°C and the nighttime temperature is between 13°C and 16°C. Lanzarote is surrounded with trade winds. The water temperature at the Atlantic is at 22°C during the summer and 17°C during the winter months. Precipitation is between 135 and 250 mm. The heaviest is between December and January. Lanzarote is the driest island in the Canary Islands. Most of the precipitation occurs in the area around Famara Massif while the south is mainly dry. Every year sandstorms strike Lanzarote; these arrive from the Sahara desert. During such storms the temperature can rise to over 40°C and visibility can drop to only 100 m. The wind which brings these storms is called the Calima to the islanders.
Flora and Fauna
Plants on the island includes 500 different kinds of which 17 are endemic and 180 are lichen. Lichens survive in the suitable areas like the rock and introduce its own weathering. These plants have adapted ways to the water, the same as succulent and are mostly founded on the island. Plants includes date palms Phoenix canariensis which are founded in damper areas of the north, Pino canariensis, ferns, wild olive trees (Olea europaea). The laurisilva trees were covered on the highest parts of Risco de Famara which are rarely founded today. After the winter rainfalls, the vegetation comes to a colorful bloom between February and March. The fauna of Lanzarote is monotonously more than the plant world except for bats and other types of mammals which arrived with humans to the island including the dromedary which used for agriculture, since it fits its environmental conditions on the island. Today, these animals are a tourist attraction. Lanzarote also has 35 types of fauna including birds, falcons, reptiles such as the type of lizard, the Gallotia antica which is in endemic state and the Remipedia can be found in the Jameos del Agua lagoon, this crab is found in the depth of the water of several thousand metres. The lagoon was created from a volcanic eruption into the cave and probably survives today.
The vineyards of La Geria is a protected area especially with its traditional methods of cultivation. The small stones are designed to protect the plants from the winds. The vineyards are part of the World Heritage Site as well as other sites on the island.
History
Lanzarote was probably the first Canary Island to be settled. The Phoenicians were settled around 1100 BC. The Greek writers and philosophers Herodotus, Plato and Plutarch described the garden of Hesperis, the land of fertility where fruits and flowers smell in the part of the Atlantic. The first known recordings came from Pliny the Elder in the encyclopedia Naturalis Historia on an expedition to the Canary Islands. The recordings of the names of then called Insulae Fortunatae were Canaria (Gran Canaria), Ninguaria (Tenerife), Junonia Mayor (La Palma) and Capraria (El Hierro). Lanzarote and Fuerteventura were not mentioned, they were mentioned as an archipelago. After the plants were founded on the island, After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Canary islands became abandoned until 999 AD when the Arabs arrived to the island and was known as al-Djezir al-Khalida and other names. In 1336, a ship from Lisbon under the guidance of Lanzarote da Framqua, alias Lancelotto Malocello. A fort was later built in the area of Montaña de Guanapay near today's Teguise. Jean de Béthencourt arrived in 1402 on a private expedition to the Canary Islands and slavery came to the island as well as raw materials. Bethencourt first visited the south of Lanzarote at Playas de Papagayo. In 1404, the Spaniards with the support of the King of Spain came and fought a rebellion against the local Guanches. The islands of Fuerteventura and El Hierro were later conquered. In the 17th century, pirates raided the island which raided 1,000 inhabitants to slavery in Cueva de los Verdes. In 1730, the island was hit by a volcanic eruption. The eruption created 32 new volcanoes with a stretch of 18 km. The minister of Yaiza Don Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo which was documented in detail until 1731. The eruption lasted for 2,053 days and ended in 1736. Lava covered a quarter of the island's surface, including the most fertile soil on the island as well as eleven villages. 100 volcanoes were located in the area called Montañas del Fuego. In 1768, drought affected the island and winter rains did not fall. Much of the population was forced to emigrate to Cuba and the Americas. Another volcanic eruption occurred within the range of Tiagua in 1824 which was not as bad as the major eruption between 1730 and 1736. In 1927, Lanzarote as well as Fuerteventura became part of the province of Las Palmas.
Persons
One of the most famous persons on the island is César Manrique, an artist. The other one is José Saramago, a Portuguese Nobel Prize for Literature winner.
Sites of interest
- El Golfo crater
- Timanfaya (Volcanic Nature Reserve)
- Salinas del Janubio
- Jameos del Agua
- Los Hervideros
- Mirador del Rio
- Cueva de los Verdes
- Puerto del Carmen
- La Gería
- A cactus garden in Guatiza Jardín de Cactus
References
- Pott, Joachim/Hüppe, Joachim/de la Torre, Wofredo Wildpret Die Kanarischen Inseln. Natur- und Kulturlandschaften = The Canary Islands. Natural and Cultural Landscapes, Ulmer : Stuttgart 2003, 320 S., 295 color photos, 28 colored graphica, 3 tables. (represented and illustrated by Geobotanik). ISBN 3800132842.
External links
- [Web Lanzarote]
- [[wikitravel:| travel guide]] from Wikitravel
- [Tourism Official Web]
- [Cabildo de Lanzarote] (Official page, in Spanish)
- [aerial photos of the island] (in German)
| Island capitals of the Canary Islands |
| |
|---|---|---|
| Islands of the Canary Islands | ||
| Main Islands: Fuerteventura | Gran Canaria | La Gomera | El Hierro | Lanzarote | La Palma | Tenerife | ||
| Other Islands: Alegranza | Graciosa | Lobos | Montaña Clara | Roque del Este | Roque del Oeste | ||
| Provinces of the Canary Islands | ||
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | ||
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