Lanzarote, a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands. 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 language was Titerro(y)gatra, which may mean "the red mountains".

Geography

It is located 11 km north-east of Fuerteventura and 1 mile from Graciosa. 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 (671m) in the north and Ajaches (608m) to the south. South of the Famara massif is the El Jable desert which separates Famara and Montañas del Fuego.

The mountainous area of Lanzarote is called Timanfaya National Park. The tallest mountain is Peñas del Chache elevating 670m above sea level. The "Tunnel of Atlantis" is the largest submerged volcanic tunnel in the world. The island is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve protected site.

Lanzarote is the easternmost island of the Canary Islands and has volcanic origin. It was born out of fiery eruptions and has solidified lava streams as well as extravagant rock formations.

Geology

Lanzarote is of volcanic origin. The island was created about 35 million years ago by the Canary hotspot. Alfred Wegener arrived in 1912 and studied the island and showed how it fitted in with his theory of continental drift. The island along with others was created after the breakup of the African and the American continental plates.

The greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736.

Flora and fauna

There are five hundred different kinds of plants and lichen on the island. 17 of the plants are endemic and there are 180 different lichen. Lichens survive in the suitable areas like the rock and introduce its own weathering. These plants have adapted to the relative scarcity of water, the same as succulents. Plants include the Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis), which are found in damper areas of the north, 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 the winter rainfalls, the vegetation comes to a colorful bloom between February and March.

The fauna of Lanzarote is more monotonous than the plant life, except for bats and other types of mammals which accompanied humans to the island, including the dromedary which was used for agriculture and is now a tourist attraction. Lanzarote has thirty-five types of animal life, including birds (such as falcons), and reptiles. Some interesting endemic creatures are the Gallotia lizards, and the blind deep-water Remipedia crabs found in the Jameos del Agua lagoon, which was created by a volcanic eruption.

The vineyards of La Gería (a sub-zone of the Lanzarote Denominación de Origen wine region), with their traditional methods of cultivation, are a protected area. Single vines are planted in pits 4-5m wide and 2-3m 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. The vineyards are part of the World Heritage Site as well as other sites on the island.

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 her husband, Carlos Morales Quintana.

The movies Krull (1983), Enemy Mine (1985), One Million Years B.C. (1966) and Broken Embraces (2009) were partially filmed on Lanzarote.

credited to wikipedia