The first known record came from Roman author Pliny the Elder in the encyclopaedia Naturalis Historia on an expedition to the Canary Islands.

[8] The names of the islands (then called Insulae Fortunatae or the "Fortunate Isles") were recorded as Junonia (Fuerteventura), Canaria (Gran Canaria), Ninguaria (Tenerife), Junonia Major (La Palma), Pluvialia (El Hierro), and Capraria (La Gomera).

[clarification needed] The Roman poet Lucan and the Greek astronomer and geographer Ptolemy gave their precise locations.

[citation needed] In 1336, a ship arrived from Lisbon under the guidance of Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello, who used the alias "Lanzarote da Framqua".

[11][12] French explorer Jean de Béthencourt arrived in 1402, heading a private expedition under Castilian auspices.

Bethencourt first visited the south of Lanzarote at Playas de Papagayo, and the French overran the island within a matter of months.

[citation needed] At the southern end of the Yaiza municipality, the first European settlement in the Canary Islands appeared in 1402 in the area known as El Rubicón, where the conquest of the Archipelago began.

In 1477, a decision by the royal council of Castile confirmed a grant of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, with the smaller islands of Ferro and Gomera to the Castilian nobles Herrera, who held their fief until the end of the 18th century.

[citation needed] In the 17th century, pirates raided the island and took 1,000 inhabitants into slavery in Cueva de los Verdes.

[citation needed] Lanzarote and Fuerteventura would be the main exporters of wheat and cereals to the central islands of the archipelago during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries; Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Much of the population was forced to emigrate to Cuba and the Americas, including a group which formed a significant addition to the Spanish settlers in Texas at San Antonio de Bexar in 1731.

UNESCO has threatened to revoke Lanzarote's Biosphere Reserve status, "if the developments are not respecting local needs and are impacting on the environment".

Laurisilva trees, which once covered the highest parts of Risco de Famara, are rarely found today.

Apart from the native bats and the mammals which accompanied humans to the island (including the dromedary, which was used for agriculture and is now a tourist attraction), there are few vertebrate species on Lanzarote.

Some interesting endemic animals are the Gallotia lizards and the blind Munidopsis polymorpha crabs found in the Jameos del Agua lagoon, which was formed by a volcanic eruption.

The official natural symbols associated with Lanzarote are Munidopsis polymorpha (Blind crab) and Euphorbia balsamifera (Tabaiba dulce).

[2] According to the 2024 census, the majority of the inhabitants are Spanish (76.1%) with a sizeable number of residents of other nationalities, notably Colombians (4.4%), Britons (3.8%), Italians (2.6%), Moroccans (2.4%) and Germans (1.4%).

[32] Lanzarote is part of the province of Las Palmas, and is divided into seven municipalities: The island's main point of entry is César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport which, in 2018, handled 7327019 passengers.

[37] It was renamed in 2019 to include the name of local artist César Manrique, in honour of the legacy he left behind on the island and coinciding with the centenary of his birth.

Lanzarote Airport is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southwest of the island's capital, Arrecife, to which it is connected by the LZ-2 road.

[39] The public bus service within the city of Arrecife is provided by the local council and consists of five lines, including one to the neighbouring town of Playa Honda.

[40] The most established festival on the island is held each year on 15 September in the village of Mancha Blanca, in honour of Our Lady of Dolours (Virgen de los Dolores), also called the "Virgin of the Volcanoes" (the Patron Saint of Lanzarote).