Island LA PALMA

La Palma has an area of 706 km². The total population is about 85,000, of which 18,000 (2003 data) live in the capital, Santa Cruz de la Palma and about 20,000 (2004 data) in Los Llanos de Aridane.

La Palma's geography is a result of the volcanic formation of the island. The highest peaks reach about 2400 m above sea level, and the foundation of the island reaches more than 3000 m below sea level. The northern part of La Palma is dominated by the Caldera de Taburiente, the largest erosion crater in the world, with a width of 9 km and a depth of 1500 m. It is surrounded by a ring of mountains ranging from 1600 m to 2400 m in height. Only the deep Barranco de las Angustias canyon leads into the inner area of the caldera which is a national park. It can be reached only by hiking. The outer slopes are cut by numerous gorges which run from 2000 m down to the sea. Today, only few of these carry water due to the water tunnels.

From the caldera to the south runs the ridge Cumbre Nueva. The southern part of La Palma is dominated by the Cumbre Vieja, a ridge formed by numerous volcanic cones built of ashes, providing a rather bizarre landscape. Several of these volcanoes are still active. The southern cape Punta de Fuencaliente, where the most recent volcanic activities took place, consists of lava and ashes.

La Palma is dominated by the colors blue, green and black. Blue is the surrounding ubiquitous sea. Green comes from the abundant plant life which is the most diverse in the Canary Islands. Black comes from the volcanic rocks that still fill the landscape, and from the numerous small beaches made of black sand.

Island FUERTEVENTURA

The island's colourful past can be traced in a variety of ancient buildings, monuments, archaeological sites and museums.The first settlers are believed to have arrived here from North Africa - the word Mahorero (Majorero) or Maho is still used today to describe the people of Fuerteventura and comes from the ancient word 'mahos' meaning a type of goatskin shoe worn by the original inhabitants. They lived in caves and semi-subterranean dwellings, a few of which have been discovered and excavated revealing relics of early tools and pottery. In antiquity, the island was known as Planaria, among other names, in reference to the flatness of most of its landscape.In the 11th century BC, the Phoenician settlers arrived in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. In 850 BC, the island was mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey, the Canary Islands as Insulae Fortunatae.

Several Spanish and Portuguese expeditions occurred in about 1340 around the island and the island were inhabited by Maurs and were afflicted with European slave holders.In 1405, the French conqueror Jean de Bethencourt took the island and gave his name to the former capital, Betancuria, on the west coast (Puerto Rosario took over the mantle as island capital in 1835). The name of the island itself is believed to have come from Bethencourt's exclamation "Que forte aventure!" ("What a grand adventure"). A less romantic explanation is that the name simply means "strong wind".In 1852, the free trade zone was extended by Isabella II to the Canary Islands. The military rule over the island which began from 1708 dissolved in 1859 and Puerto de Cabras (now Puerto del Rosario) became entirely the new capital.The Canary islands had the right to self-govern in 1912.

Island LANZAROTE

Lanzarote, a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean ca. 125 kilometers off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. 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 name in the native Guanche language was Tite-Roy-Gatra, which may mean "the red mountains".

As of 2003, a total of 114,715 people lived on Lanzarote; the population has since risen to about 125,000[citation needed]. The seat of the island government (cabildo insular) is in Arrecife, which has a population of 47,100 (2004). The flag is red and blue split diagonally from top-left to bottom-right.

Island LA GRACIOSA

Graciosa Island or commonly La Graciosa (Spanish for graceful) is an island in the Canary Islands of Spain, located 2 km north of the lsland of Lanzarote with the strait named Río. The island is part of Parque National Los Islotes as well as the municipality of Teguise. The island forms a part of the Chinijo Archipelago. The town is in the southeastern part of the island with houses encircling the harbor which has two piers and a yacht area in the bay. Other smaller islands include Montaña Clara (Spanish for clear mountain) which is an archipelago to the northwest, Roque del Este, Roque del Oeste and Alegranza to the north. The only two settlements include Caleta de Sebo and Casas de Pedro Barba. The island is entirely made up of volcanic sands.