The Canary Islands (Spanish: Islas Canarias) are a large archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa, consisting of seven major islands and several smaller islets, all of volcanic origin, forming an autonomous community of Spain. Due to its geographic location, the Canaries are the southernmost and westernmost region of Spain. It is also one of the eight regions with special consideration of historical nationality recognized as such by the Spanish government.
The Canary Islands are divided into two provinces: the province of Tenerife, with its capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which includes La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro, and the province of Gran Canaria, with its capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which includes Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Graciosa; until 1927, the capital of the Canaries was only Santa Cruz.
The Canaries are subtropical islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa and the Sahara, near Morocco, just north of the Tropic of Cancer (at the 28th parallel, the same latitude as Florida, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, and Hawaii).
The island closest to Africa, Fuerteventura, is about 95 km from the African coast, while the archipelago is 940 km from the European mainland coast.
The islands form the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with Cape Verde, Madeira, the Azores, and the Savage Islands. Mount Teide, located on the island of Tenerife, at 3,718 meters, is the highest mountain in Spain.
Throughout the year, the islands enjoy a very mild climate; due to the influence of the trade winds, however, it can be very dry as well as rather humid. Being in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the water temperature reaches 18°C in January-February (the coldest time of the year), rising to 28°C in July-August-September (the hottest period). The rainfall regime is desertic, as only in some higher areas does it exceed 200 mm annually, concentrated in the winter season.
