ARRECIFE

Arrecife is the capital and port of Lanzarote which is the northernmost of the Canary Islands, located just 70 miles from the coast of Africa. The island is 60 kilometers long and 20 kilometers wide, making it the fourth largest island in the Canary Islands. As it is only four degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer, it enjoys a subtropical climate that remains fairly stable throughout the year with average daytime temperatures ranging from around 21°C in January to 29°C in August. Annual rainfall is low.

Lanzarote is of volcanic origin. Because of the eruptions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many parts of the island seem to come from another world, often described as "lunar" or "Martian", so much so that some parts of the series of science fiction of 1970, The Planet of the Apes were filmed. The dry climate and the lack of erosion mean that the volcanic landscape looks very much like it did immediately after the eruptions; the local tourism industry capitalizes on this fact.

Among the many volcanic attractions of Lanzarote is the longest volcanic tunnel in the world called the Atlantida Tunnel, which is more than 7 km long and includes La Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua. Today the park of the volcano of Timanfaya is the number one tourist attraction. But 270 years ago it was the scene of the longest volcanic eruption in the world. The island has several locations, such as Puerto del Carmen, located about 20 km south of Arrecife, or Costa Teguise 7 km north.