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The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago located
just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west
of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The islands
are (from largest to smallest): Tenerife (capital is Santa Cruz
de Tenerife), Fuerteventura (capital Puerto del Rosario), Gran
Canaria (capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Lanzarote (capital
Arrecife), La Palma (capital Santa Cruz de La Palma), La Gomera
(capital San Sebastián de La Gomera) and El Hierro (capital
Valverde). The islets are La Graciosa, Alegranza, Montaña
Clara, Roque del Este, Roque del Oeste and Isla de Lobos. The
islands are a major tourist destination attracting over 12 million
visitors a year with Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote the
most popular. The islands have a sub-tropical climate, with long
hot days in summer and cooler days in winter. The Canary Islands
are volcanic, mountainous ocean islands, some are still active
today. They are home to many unique species and are the fourth
natural region in the world for endemic flora with 1700 reported
higher plant species, more than 6000 species of invertebrates
and 109 species of vertebrates.
Tenerife is the largest island of the Canary
Islands. Santa Cruz is the capital and seat of the Parliament
of the Canary Islands. San Cristobal de La Laguna, the second
city of the island, is home to the oldest university in the Canary
Islands. At 3,718 m the active volcano Mount Teide is the highest
peak of Spain and also a World Heritage Site. The coasts of Tenerife
are typically rugged and steep, particularly on the north of
the island. There are 67 kilometres of beaches - on the northern
coast are pebble beaches with black sand, while on the south
and south-west coast the sand is much finer and lighter.
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