Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura, a Spanish island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28°20' north, 14°00' west.

Related Topics:
Spanish - Island - Canary Islands - Atlantic Ocean - Africa

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The elongated island has an area of 1660 km². The island is 100 km long from and 31 km wide.

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It is part of the province of Las Palmas. It is divided into six municipalities:

Related Topics:
Las Palmas - Municipalities

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• Antigua
• Betancuria
• La Oliva
• Pájara
• Puerto del Rosario
• Tuineje

67 individual settlements are distributed through these municipalities. A nearby islet, Islote de Lobos, is part of the municipality of La Oliva.

Related Topics:
Islote de Lobos - La Oliva

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Located just 100 kilometres off the coast of North Africa. It is the second biggest of the islands, after Tenerife, and has the longest beaches in the archipelago. The island is a paradise for sun, beach and watersports enthusiasts.

Related Topics:
North Africa - Tenerife

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The island is widely believed to be the oldest of the Canary Islands. Its strange form was created out of a series of volcanic eruptions many thousands of years ago.

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The first tourist hotel was built here in 1965 followed by the construction of the airport at El Mattoral, heralding the dawn of a new era for the island. Fuerteventura, with its 3,000 sunshine hours a year, was placed firmly on the world stage as a major European holiday destination.

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The island is on the same latitude as Florida and Mexico and temperatures here rarely fall below 18C or rise above 24C. There are no less than 152 beaches along its coastline - 50 kilometres of fine, white sand and 25 kilometres of black volcanic shingle.

Related Topics:
Florida - Mexico

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The summer Trade Winds and winter swells of the Atlantic make this a year-round surfers' paradise. Sailors, scuba divers and big game fishermen are all drawn to these clear blue Atlantic waters where whales, dolphins, marlin and turtles are all common sights.

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Much of the interior, with its large plains, lavascapes and volcanic mountains, consists of protected areas which can be best be explored in a 4x4 or (for the more daring) with a cross-country motorbike.

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