Information about Lanzarote - Canary Islands

Lanzarote Information

Origin & Location

Lanzarote is one of the 9 main Canary Islands and was created for about 19 million years by volcano eruptions.

The island exists out of 100 volcanos which count more than 300 craters.

Lanzarote is situated only 125 km from the coast of Africa and is the most N-E of the Canary Islands archipel.

With it´s surface measurement of 846 sq. km it is the fourth largest island of the Canaries.

The last volcano eruptions took place in the year 1824, which gave the island a moonlike landscape in the area of the Timanfaya National Park.

With it´s strange landscape Lanzarote certainly is the most individual island of the Canaries.

In 1993 UNESCO declared the island a "World Biosphere Reserve".

Climate

Lanzarote has a sub- tropical climate with temperatures between 20ºC during winter and 30ºC during summer.

The Canary Islands are also called "Fortunate Islands" or "Islands of eternal spring" thanks to their favorite weather conditions.

The water temperature lays between 17 and 22ºC.

Culture

Artist and architect Cesar Manrique has influenced the view of Lanzarote in a positive way by designing buildings and statues that combine extremely well with the islands natural environment.

The local musical instrument is called "Timple" which is still used in the traditional Lanzarote music.

The traditional sport is named "Lucha Canaria" which is a kind of wrestling.

Ecomomy

The main income for the peolpe on Lanzarote was for a long time the fishing industry and agriculture of grapes for the production of wine.

Lanzarote used to have the biggest tuna fishing float of the Canaries which was situated in Arrecife. The fishingtowns such as Puerto del Carmen have still not lost their roots.

Because of it´s fortunate climate and location tourism has become the islands main industry.

The towns of Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise and Playa Blanca are the main tourism centers.

The government has protected the nature of the island well and there are lots of interesting things to discover.

Click to enlarge > Lanzarote Map

Find out more:

Lanzarote highlights - History of Lanzarote - What is a World Biosphere Reserve ?

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