|
The Island
Lanzarote, a Spanish island, is the
easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean,
approximately 125 kilometres 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 Guanche language was Tite-Roy-Gatra, which may mean "the
red mountains".
Lanzarote is part of the Canary Islands, and is
divided into seven municipalities:
Lanzarote is of volcanic origin. The island was
created about 35 million years ago. 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.
Lanzarote's climate ranges from mild to hot
during the year. Temperatures in the summer are between 30 °C
and 35 °C during the day and about 20 °C at night. Its winter
daytime temperature is between 20 °C and 25 °C and the nighttime
temperature is between 13 °C and 16 °C. Lanzarote is surrounded
with trade winds. The water temperature at the Atlantic is at 22
°C during the summer and 17 °C during the winter months.
Precipitation is between 135 and 250 mm.
|
