[12][13][full citation needed] This is due to their beaches, subtropical climate, and important natural attractions, especially Maspalomas in Gran Canaria and Mount Teide, a World Heritage Site in Tenerife.

[18][21] The third largest city in the Canary Islands is San Cristóbal de La Laguna, another World Heritage Site on Tenerife.

There are a series of small adjacent rocks in the Canary Islands: the Roques de Anaga, Garachico and Fasnia in Tenerife, and Salmor and Bonanza in El Hierro.

[46] The Canary Islands is the only place in Spain where volcanic eruptions have been recorded during the Modern Era, with some volcanoes still active (El Hierro, 2011).

The islands were once considered as a distinct physiographic section of the Atlas Mountains province, which is part of the larger African Alpine System division, but are now recognized as being related to a magmatic hot spot.

In fact, the islands do not enjoy any special degree of autonomy, as each one of the Spanish regions is considered an autonomous community, with equal status to the European ones.

[71][72] As José Farrujia describes, 'The indigenous Canarians lived mainly in natural caves, usually near the coast, 300 to 500 metres (1,000 to 1,600 ft) above sea level.

[73] Archaeological work has uncovered a rich culture visible through artefacts of ceramics, human figures, fishing, hunting and farming tools, plant fibre clothing and vessels, as well as cave paintings.

[75][76] The social structure of indigenous Canarians encompassed "a system of matrilineal descent in most of the islands, in which inheritance was passed on via the female line.

[77] Juba dispatched a naval contingent to re-open the dye production facility at Mogador in what is now western Morocco in the early first century AD.

This phase of the conquest came to an end in the year 1496, with the dominion of the island of Tenerife, bringing the entire Canarian Archipelago under the control of the Crown of Castile.

In 1448, Maciot de Béthencourt sold the lordship of Lanzarote to Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator, an action that was accepted by neither the natives nor the Castilians.

The Castilians continued to dominate the islands, but due to the topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, they did not achieve complete control until 1496, when Tenerife and La Palma were finally subdued by Alonso Fernández de Lugo.

After the conquest, the Castilians imposed a new economic model, based on single-crop cultivation: first sugarcane; then wine, an important item of trade with England.

As the wealth grew, enslaved African workers were also forced into demeaning domestic roles for the rich Castilians on the islands such as servants in their houses.

[89] Research on the skeletons of some of these enslaved workers from the burial site of Finca Clavijo on Gran Canaria have showed that 'all of the adults buried in Finca Clavijo undertook extensive physical activity that involved significant stress on the spine and appendicular skeleton' that result from relentless hard labour, akin to the physical abnormalities found with enslaved peoples from other sugarcane plantations around the world.

[83] These findings of the physical strain that the enslaved at Finca Clavijo were subjected to in order to provide wealth for the Spanish elite has inspired a poem by British writer Ralph Hoyte, entitled Close to the Bone.

During this time the Canarian-American trade was developed, in which Canarian products such as cochineal, sugarcane and rum were sold in American ports such as Veracruz, Campeche, La Guaira and Havana, among others.

[95] By the end of the 18th century, Canary Islanders had already emigrated to Spanish American territories, such as Havana, Veracruz, and Santo Domingo,[96] San Antonio, Texas[97] and St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.

[103] During the time of the Second Spanish Republic, Marxist and anarchist workers' movements began to develop, led by figures such as Jose Miguel Perez and Guillermo Ascanio.

[104] During the Second World War, Winston Churchill prepared plans for the British seizure of the Canary Islands as a naval base, in the event of Gibraltar being invaded from the Spanish mainland.

The first cities founded by the Europeans at the time of the conquest of the Canary Islands in the 15th century were: Telde (in Gran Canaria), San Marcial del Rubicón (in Lanzarote) and Betancuria (in Fuerteventura).

[136] To bring in revenue for environmental protection, innovation, training and water sanitation a tourist tax was considered in 2018, along with a doubling of the ecotax and restrictions on holiday rents in the zones with the greatest pressure of demand.

[138][139] Additionally, the EU allows the Canary Islands Government to offer special tax concessions for investors who incorporate under the Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC) regime and create more than five jobs.

[140][141] Spain gave permission in August 2014 for Repsol and its partners to explore oil and natural gas prospects off the Canary Islands, involving an investment of €7.5 billion over four years, to commence at the end of 2016.

[145] The combination of high mountains, proximity to Europe, and clean air has made the Roque de los Muchachos peak (on La Palma island) a leading location for telescopes like the Grantecan.

In recent years, the increasing popularity of both scuba diving and underwater photography have provided biologists with much new information on the marine life of the islands.

However, it is believed that some of these species may have bred in the islands in the past, and there are records of several sightings of leatherback sea turtle on beaches in Fuerteventura, adding credibility to the theory.

The anniversary of the first session of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, based in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, held on 30 May 1983, is commemorated with this day.

Maspalomas Station, located in the south of the island, took part in a number of space missions including the Apollo 11 Moon landings and Skylab.