Lanzarote Nature

Lanzarote has a spectacular nature, both in terms of scenery, being this one of its main tourist attractions, such as the wildlife island plagued by endemic.

Moreover, the island has been at the forefront of the Canary Islands with regard to environmental awareness, as evidenced by its pioneering legal framework for planning or negotiating for the construction moratoriums, trying to strike a perfect balance between tourism development and environmental preservation natural.

All this was rewarded with the declaration of the island as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1993. Currently, 42% of the territory of the island is protected under one of the figures of conservation laws which provide for the Canaries.

Charco Charco Los click or Green, just south of Lanzarote in the area Golgo
Five geographical landmarks make the morphology of Lanzarote, giving it a unique personality and each harboring diverse landscapes of great natural and geological value.

These two mountains of great ade, each located in the extreme north and south of the island (Famara-Guatifay and Los Ajaches, respectively),are two areas of recent volcanism, which form the Timanfaya volcanic area in central-south, and the volcano and Malpais de La Corona, north, and finally, a spit of sand of marine origin that passes through the center of the island, in the area known as El Jable. These five areas, along the set of islets Chinijo Archipelago, north of the island, home to most of the charming landscape of the “Island of the Volcanoes”.

Timanfaya

Arising from Timanfaya eruptions, which occurred between 1730 and 1736, and occupying about a quarter of the surface of the island. In the center of this area is the area of highest geological interest and the scenic National Park of Timanfaya, declared as such in August 1974. This is an area of just over 50 km ² in which you can observe more than 25 volcanoes, lava fields beyond, volcanic slag lapillis all perfectly preserved.

Inside is the Natural Monument Mountain of Fire, where is located the visitor center of the Islet of Hilario, managed by the council. This area still retains some volcanic activity, as evidenced by the emission of heat produced by the earth.

The National Park is surrounded by a second protected area, Natural Park of the Volcanoes, also buried by the eruption of Timanfaya. The lava reached the western coast of the island, entering the ocean and increasing the length of Lanzarote.

The rapid cooling of lava upon contact with water, combined with the erosive action of waves, created a unique coastal landscape. Example of this is the place known as Los Hervideros, near the town of El Golfo. In the vicinity of the Pool is green or Clicos, a strange sea water lagoon with green tones because phytoplankton that lives inside.

Bordering the national park lies the hamlet of La Geria, shows a perfect symbiosis between man and nature. In Lanzarote The peasant Geria devised a unique agricultural system in the world with which he could cultivate the land they had been burned by volcanic ash.

These ashes, called the Canaries’ sauce, hold the humidity at night and leak into the earth beneath, while isolating it during the day. A lower limestone layer prevents water continues into the subsoil. The system posiblita cultivation of vines in an area of sub-desert climate.

To do this, farmers had to look under the lapilli “earth mother” who had been buried, planted in her strains, cover with layers of lava stones and building stone walls that shield Vocano the vines from the strong wind in the area. This resulted in an exceptional landscape, producing wines of Lanzarote borrowers, primarily from the Malvasia grape.