Canary Islands

An autonomous community and archipelago belonging to Spain, the CANARY ISLANDS (Islas Canarias) sit in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, located west of southern Morocco. They are not named after canary birds, but may have been named after the Latin word for dogs (canariae). King Juba II, leader of Mauretania in the Roman Empire, was the first Western person to discover the Canary Islands and may have seen large dogs on an island he named Canaria; this island is now called Gran Canaria. As shown on my map, other major islands besides Gran Canaria include Fuerteventura, Gomera, Hierro, Lanzarote, La Palma, and Tenerife. The Canary Islands' largest island in area, Tenerife, boasts the enormous SOLTEN solar energy plant and other alternative energy source initiatives. Tenerife has high elevations in the center, with mountains like Pico de Teide soaring over 3,700 kilometers tall. The islands have a booming tourism industry, and there are bountiful ecotourism opportunities. There are several Spanish national parks on the islands, including Parque Nacional de Garajonay, P.N. del Teide, P.N. de Timanfaya, and P.N. la Caldera de Taburiente. Finally, people on the Canary Islands use the Euro as their currency, just like in Spain.