Fuerteventura and Lanzarote of the Canary Islands

Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency features Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, part of the Canary Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. The false-color image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

“The Canary Islands are a group of ocean island volcanoes that were formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago. The Spanish region and archipelago is located around 100 km off the north coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula,” says ESA.

“The eight main islands are (in order of largest to smallest in area) Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa. The archipelago also includes many smaller islands and islets.”

Lanzarote is the third most populous Canary Island, with a population of 150,000, and is also the easternmost island in the archipelago.

“Lanzarote has a long history of eruptions and is often referred to as the ‘Island of the 1000 volcanoes,’ yet it is actually the least mountainous Canarian Island,” reports ESA.

“The highest mountain is the volcano Peñas del Chache near Haría in the northern part of the island, which is 670 m above sea level. The Timanfaya National Park can be seen in the southwest part of the island and is entirely made up of volcanic soil.”

Fuerteventura Island is the second largest of the Canaries. It is also the oldest, emerging between 12 and 20 million years ago.

“The island is fairly flat and has a desert landscape of sand and stones as well as long beaches,” says ESA. “The center of the island is made up of a wide, elongated valley and, from north to south, is dissected by a series of extinct, eroded volcanoes. The west coast is dotted with rugged cliffs and small bays.”

Video Credit: ESA

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer