Lanzarote

This article is about the Canary Island. For other uses, see Lanzarote (disambiguation).

Lanzarote

Native name: Lanzarote Nickname: Lanza
Flag of Lanzarote
Geography
Location	Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates
Archipelago	Canary Islands
Total islands	7
Major islands	Tenerife, Gran Canaria
Area
Highest elevation	671 m (2,201 ft)
Highest point	Peñas del Chache, Famara
Country
Spain
Autonomous Community	Canary Islands
Province	Las Palmas
Largest settlement	Arrecife (pop. 55,203)
Demographics
Population	142,132 (as of 2012)
Density	227,6 /km2 (5,895 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Spanish, other minority groups

Lanzarote (/ˌlænzəˈrɒti/; Spanish pronunciation: [lanθaˈɾote, lansa-]), a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km (78 mi) off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km (621 mi) from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 square kilometers (327 sq mi), it is the fourth largest of the islands. With 141,938 inhabitants, Lanzarote is the third most populous island of the Canary Islands, after Tenerife and Gran Canaria. In the center-west of the island is the Timanfaya National Park, which is one of the main attractions of Lanzarote. Its capital is Arrecife.

The first recorded name for the island, given by Angelino Dulcert, was Insula de Lanzarotus Marocelus, after the Genovese navigator Lancelotto Malocello, from which the modern name is derived. The island's name in the native language was Tyterogaka or Tytheroygaka, which may mean "one that is all ochre" (referring to the island's predominant colour).

Geography

Lanzarote is located 11 km (7 mi) north-east of Fuerteventura and just over 1 km (0.62 mi) from Graciosa. The dimensions of the island are 60 km (37 mi) from north to south and 25 km (16 mi) from west to east. Lanzarote has 213 km (132 mi) of coastline, of which 10 km (6 mi) are sand, 16.5 km (10 mi) are beach, and the remainder is rocky. Its landscape includes the mountain ranges of Famara (671 meters (2,201 ft)) 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. The highest peak is Peñas del Chache rising to 670 meters (2,198 ft) above sea level. The "Tunnel of Atlantis," the largest underwater volcanic tunnel in the world, is part of the Cueva de los Verdes lava tube.

Climate

Lanzarote has a desert climate according to the Köppen climatic classification. The little precipitation is concentrated to winter months. It closely borders on a tropical climate, with winter means being just below 18 °C (64 °F).

Climate data for Lanzarote Airport (1981-2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	27.9 (82.2)	29.0 (84.2)	32.7 (90.9)	36.3 (97.3)	42.6 (108.7)	40.7 (105.3)	42.9 (109.2)	43.6 (110.5)	40.5 (104.9)	37.1 (98.8)	34.2 (93.6)	27.5 (81.5)	43.6 (110.5)
Average high °C (°F)	20.7 (69.3)	21.3 (70.3)	22.9 (73.2)	23.5 (74.3)	24.6 (76.3)	26.3 (79.3)	28.2 (82.8)	29.1 (84.4)	28.6 (83.5)	26.7 (80.1)	24.2 (75.6)	21.8 (71.2)	24.8 (76.6)
Daily mean °C (°F)	17.4 (63.3)	17.9 (64.2)	19.0 (66.2)	19.6 (67.3)	20.8 (69.4)	22.6 (72.7)	24.3 (75.7)	25.2 (77.4)	24.7 (76.5)	23.0 (73.4)	20.7 (69.3)	18.6 (65.5)	21.1 (70)
Average low °C (°F)	14.0 (57.2)	14.3 (57.7)	15.0 (59)	15.7 (60.3)	16.8 (62.2)	18.8 (65.8)	20.4 (68.7)	21.2 (70.2)	20.8 (69.4)	19.4 (66.9)	17.2 (63)	15.4 (59.7)	17.4 (63.3)
Record low °C (°F)	8.0 (46.4)	9.0 (48.2)	8.3 (46.9)	9.5 (49.1)	11.5 (52.7)	12.4 (54.3)	15.4 (59.7)	16.6 (61.9)	15.5 (59.9)	12.0 (53.6)	10.9 (51.6)	9.0 (48.2)	8.0 (46.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	16.5 (0.65)	18.2 (0.717)	12.5 (0.492)	5.2 (0.205)	1.5 (0.059)	0.1 (0.004)	0.0 (0)	0.5 (0.02)	2.2 (0.087)	9.9 (0.39)	14.7 (0.579)	29.3 (1.154)	110.6 (4.357)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm)	3	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	4	18
Average relative humidity (%)	68	68	66	66	66	66	68	68	70	71	69	71	68
Mean monthly sunshine hours	203	201	241	255	297	292	308	295	248	235	207	196	2,978
Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología

Geology

View over a lava field towards the Montañas del Fuego.

Lanzarote is the easternmost island of the Canary Islands and has a volcanic origin. It was born through fiery eruptions and has solidified lava streams as well as extravagant rock formations. The island emerged about 15 million years ago as product of the Canary hotspot. Alfred Wegener's study of the island while visiting in 1912 showed how it fitted in with his theory of continental drift. The island, along with others, emerged after the break-up of the African and the American continental plates. The greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736 in the area now designated Timanfaya National Park.

Demographics

Papagayo beach

As of 2010, 139,000 people live on Lanzarote which is an increase of 9.4% from 2006 (127,000). The seat of the island government (Cabildo Insular) is in the capital, Arrecife, which has a population of 59,000. The majority of the inhabitants (73.9%) are Spanish, with a sizable number of residents from other European nations, mainly British (4.0%), Germans (2.6%) and Irish (2.5%). Other populous groups include immigrants from Colombia, Morocco, Ecuador, Western Africa, China and India, which constitute a large proportion of the remaining 15.6% of the population.

Ethnic Group	Population	% of Lanzarote's Population
Spanish	99,998	73.9%
Colombian	5,703	4.2%
British	5,420	4.0%
Moroccan	3,606	2.7%
German	3,450	2.6%
Irish	3,378	2.5%
Ecuadorians	1,950	1.4%
Other ethnicities	11,758	8.7%

The island has an international airport, Arrecife Airport, through which 5,438,178 passengers travelled in 2008. Tourism has been the mainstay of the island's economy for the past 40 years, the only other industry being agriculture. The emblem of Lanzarote is a demon because the early settlers interpreted their first experience of a volcanic eruption as the work of the devil.

Lanzarote is part of the province of Las Palmas, and is divided into seven municipalities:

• Arrecife
• Haría
• San Bartolomé
• Teguise (includes Isla de La Graciosa and four smaller islets, including Alegranza)
• Tías
• Tinajo
• Yaiza

Biodiversity

Plants

There are five hundred different kinds of plants on the island of which 17 species are endemic. These plants have adapted to the relative scarcity of water, in the same way as succulents. They include the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), which is found in damper areas of the north, the Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis), ferns, and wild olive trees (Olea europaea). Laurisilva trees which once covered the highest parts of Risco de Famara are rarely found today. After winter rainfall, the vegetation comes to a colourful bloom between February and March.

Malvasia grape vines growing in topsoil, covered in lapilli, La Geria, Lanzarote. The low, curved walls protect the vines from the constant, drying wind.

The vineyards of La Gería, Lanzarote DO wine region, are a protected area. Single vines are planted in pits 4–5 m wide and 2–3 m deep, with small stone walls around each pit. This agricultural technique is designed to harvest rainfall and overnight dew and to protect the plants from the winds.

Fungi

There are 180 different species of lichen-forming fungi. These survive in the suitable areas like rock surfaces, and promote weathering.

Animals

Apart from bats and other mammals which accompanied humans to the island (including the dromedary which was used for agriculture and is now a tourist attraction), there are few vertebrate species on Lanzarote. These include birds (such as falcons), and reptiles. Some interesting endemic animals are the Gallotia lizards, and the blind Munidopsis polymorpha crabs found in the Jameos del Agua lagoon, which was formed by a volcanic eruption. The island is also home to one of two surviving populations of the threatened Canarian Egyptian vulture.

History

Lanzarote was probably the first Canary Island to be settled. The Phoenicians may have settled there around 1100 BC, though no material evidence survives. The Greek writers and philosophers Herodotus, Plato and Plutarch described the garden of the Hesperides, a mythic orchard at the far West of the world, which some like to identify with the Canaries.

The first known record came from Pliny the Elder in the encyclopedia Naturalis Historia on an expedition to the Canary Islands. The names of five islands (then called Insulae Fortunatae, the "Fortunate Isles") were recorded as Canaria (Gran Canaria), Ninguaria (Tenerife), Junonia Major (La Palma), Plivalia (El Hierro) and Capraria (La Gomera). Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the two easternmost Canary Islands, were only mentioned as the archipelago of the "purple islands". The Roman poet Lucan and the Greek astronomer and geographer Ptolemy gave their precise locations. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Canary islands were ignored until 999 when the Arabs arrived at the island which they dubbed al-Djezir al-Khalida and other names.

In 1336, a ship arrived 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. Castilian slaving expeditions in 1385 and 1393 seized hundreds of Guanches and sold them in Spain, initiating the slave trade in the islands.

Jean de Béthencourt arrived in 1402, heading a private expedition under Castilian auspices. Bethencourt first visited the south of Lanzarote at Playas de Papagayo, and within a matter of months the French overran the island, which lacked mountains and gorges to serve as retreats for the small remaining population of Guanches, so many of whom were taken away as slaves, it was said that only 300 men remained. In 1404, the Castilians with the support of the King of Castile came and fought the local Guanches, who were further decimated. The islands of Fuerteventura and El Hierro were later similarly conquered. In 1477 a decision by the royal council of Castile confirmed a grant of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, with the smaller islands of Ferro and Gomera to the Castilian nobles Herrera, who held their fief until the end of the 18th century.

In 1585, the Ottoman admiral Murat Reis temporarily seized Lanzarote. In the 17th century, pirates raided the island and took 1,000 inhabitants to slavery in Cueva de los Verdes.

From 1730 to 1736 (for 2,053 days), the island was hit by a series of volcanic eruptions, producing 32 new volcanoes in a stretch of 18 km (11 mi). The minister of Yaiza, Don Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo documented the eruption in detail until 1731. Lava covered a quarter of the island's surface, including the most fertile soil and eleven villages. One hundred smaller volcanoes were located in the area called Montañas del Fuego, the "Mountains of Fire".

In 1768, drought affected the deforested 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 less violent than the major eruption between 1730 and 1736.

In 1927, Lanzarote, along with Fuerteventura, became part of the province of Las Palmas.

In 2007, a team from the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and a team from the Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain uncovered the prehistoric settlement at El Bebedero yielding about 100 Roman potsherds, nine pieces of metal, and one piece of glass. The artifacts were found in strata dated between the first and 4th centuries. The finds show that Romans did trade with the Canaries, though there is no evidence of settlements.

Biosphere Reserve controversy

The island has a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve protected site status. According to a report in the Financial Times, this status was endangered by a local corruption scandal. Since May 2009, police have arrested the former president of Lanzarote, the former mayor of Arrecife and more than 20 politicians and businessmen in connection with illegal building permits along Lanzarote's coastline. UNESCO has threatened to revoke Lanzarote's Biosphere Reserve status, "(i)f the developments are not respecting local needs and are impacting on the environment".

The President of the Cabildo of Lanzarote denied "any threat to Lanzarote's UNESCO status".

Notables

Among the notables who have lived on the island are César Manrique, an artist; José Saramago, a Portuguese Nobel Prize for Literature winner who died there, and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark and husband, Carlos Morales Quintana, and Jean Arriete Prud'homme (Surname later hispanicized to Perdomo), a French nobleman who arrived with Jean de Béthencourt and gave his name to the village of Arriete.

Festivals

The party most established on the island is held in the village of Mancha Blanca in the municipality of Tinajo, each September 15 in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows (Virgen de los Dolores), also called Virgin of the Volcanoes (Saint Patron of Lanzarote). In his pilgrimage people from all over the island, mostly dressed in traditional costumes of the island participate.

Lanzarote in Culture and Art

Film

• One Million Years B.C. (1966)
• Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) – shot entirely in Lanzarote
• Road to Salina (1970)
• The Martian Chronicles (1980) – TV mini-series
• Krull (1983)
• Doctor Who: Planet of Fire (1984)
• Enemy Mine (1985)
• Stranded: Náufragos (2002)
• Broken Embraces (2009)
• Doctor Who: "Kill the Moon" (2014)
• In The Heart Of The Sea (2015)

Music Video

• Stone Roses singles "Fools Gold" and "I Wanna be Adored".
• Textures (band) - "Reaching Home".
• Marina and the Diamonds - "I'm a Ruin"

Literature

• The Wind Off the Small Isles (1968)
• The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq (2005)
• Island Zero by Nick Cracknell (2016)

Gallery

Hacha Grande, in the south of the island, viewed from the road to Papagayo beach.

Salinas de Janubio, in the west of the island.

Crater and laguna in El Golfo.

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 3-8001-3284-2.
• Wilkens, Horst: Lanzarote — Blind Crabs, Hoopoes and Volcanoes. A Guide to the Countryside, Plants and Animals of an Exceptional Volcanic Island. NATURALANZA Ulrike Strecker 2009, 120 pages, with colour photos. ISBN 978-3-942999-03-8.
• Strecker, Ulrike & Wilkens, Horst: Lanzarote — Life on Lava. Book of Illustrations of the most impressive landscapes, animals and plants. 120 pages, more than 90 colour photos, hardcover. ISBN 3-942999-02-1.

External links

• Official tourism site of Lanzarote
• Lanzarote at DMOZ
• Lanzarote travel guide from Wikivoyage