Naming Canary Islands
The name ‘Canary Islands’ originates in the Latin version of the name of these islands: Canariae Insulae. This means ‘dog islands’. Several explanations exist as to why the islands were called dog islands. One explanation claims that there used to be many big dogs on the islands. Another one is that ‘dog’ actually meant ‘seal’, referring to the seals that used to populate the waters surrounding the islands. A third explanation is that the original inhabitants, the Guanches, regarded dogs as sacred animals.
The coat of arms of the Canary Islands, which is shown in the centre of the Canary Islands’ flag, shows two dogs.
Flag of the Canary Islands
The naming of Fuerteventura
‘Fuerteventura’ means ‘strong wind’. The island has been named after the virtually omnipresent trade winds. These winds can be quite strong, particularly in the north of the island and at the west coast. The many windmills spread over Fuerteventura go to show that wind plays an important part on the island.
Before the Spaniards conquered the island in the 16th century, it was called ‘Erbani’. Prior to that it was known as ‘Planaria’, referring to the fact that the largest part of the island is flat.
Size of Fuerteventura
Covering a surface of 1,658 km², Fuerteventura is the second largest island of the Canary archipelago, following Tenerife. From north to south, the island stretches over more than 100 km. The widest width from east to west is 30 km.
The number of inhabitants on Fuerteventura is about 106,000 (2018). With a population density of 64 inhabitants per km2, Fuerteventura is the least densely populated island among the five bigger islands. Some figures for comparison: in 2011, the population density in England was 407 inhabitants per km2; in Wales 147/km2, in Scotland 67/km2 and in Northern Ireland 131/km2.
The highest point is the Pico de la Zarza (807 m) in the far south of the island, close to Jandia tourist resort.
Fuerteventura relief map.
Source: www.eilandeninfo.nl.
Residents & government
Next to tourism, goat farming is another important source of income for Fuerteventura’s economy. In fact, there are more goats than people on the island! You can find goat farms with more than 1,000 animals, for instance along the FV-2 main road, just south of the exit to Gran Tarajal.
About 75% of the original population is Roman Catholic. The remaining 25% is not specifically religious.
The Canary Islands are an autonomous Spanish region.
Two cities alternatingly function as the capital of this comunidad autónoma: Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. An island council (cabildo insular) is responsible for the government of Fuerteventura. The main language on Fuerteventura is Spanish, just like on the rest of the Canary Islands.
Time seems to have stood still in some inland villages. In Betancuria, the former capital of Fuerteventura, but also in Pájara, Antigua and La Oliva, relics from olden days still stand tall: beautiful churches and palaces, granaries and windmills. In spite of their quaintness, these villages are still lively places; many residents remain loyal to their native soil and prefer commuting to their jobs in the touristy places rather than moving there and live in newly established residential areas.
Fuerteventura used to be a society consisting of farmers and fishermen. At that time, the island was the granary of the Canary Islands. Today, however, the fields are bare and neglected. Occasional remainders of aloe vera and cactuses bear witness to the large-scale production of raw materials for the cosmetics industry.
Nowadays the only significant agricultural activity on Fuerteventura is goat farming. The island harbours more than 100,000 goats. They produce milk for the majorero goat cheese, an important export product.
Nature
The origin of Fuerteventura and its neighbouring islands lies in volcanism. The age of Fuerteventura is estimated at about 30 million years. The most recent volcanic eruptions happened some 7,000 years ago.
At first glance the landscape looks rather inhospitable. It is hard to imagine now, but part of Fuerteventura actually used to be covered in woods. They disappeared rapidly due to illegal logging and years of overgrazing by goats. In addition, the lack of rainfall made certain types of vegetation disappear.
El Jable, a dune area perfect for hiking close to Corralejo.
Fuerteventura’s volcanic origins and its position at 100 kilometres off the West-African coast contribute to its landscape looking like a desert and even like the moon in certain places. Fine white sand from the Sahara, transported to the beaches by the wind, settles close to the crystal-clear azure water of the Atlantic. This can be seen particularly well in the dune hiking area El Jable just to the east of Corralejo.
Nowadays a large part of the island has no, or hardly any, vegetation. Only cactuses and succulents as well as mosses and rigid shrubs can survive the drought of Fuerteventura. Merely a few deeply worn-out barrancos (canyons) in the Betancuria massif in the west manage to hold enough of the scarce rainwater and are home to small oases (our hiking packages include trips to the most beautiful ones).
The island is divided into two parts: the north, Maxorata, and the southwestern peninsula, Jandia, a large nature reserve. This area is only accessible driving a 4×4 jeep or riding a mountain bike. It starts just west of Morro Jable. A must-see if you like rugged, unspoiled nature.
The landscape is dominated by two mountain ranges: the central mountain range of Betancuria and the Jandía massif on the peninsula named after it. Both mountain ranges are connected by the Istmo de la Pared, a flat strip of headland 5 kms wide.
Fuerteventura has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 2009. The varied ecosystem consisting of semi-deserts, green oases and a fascinating coastal landscape including the Corralejo dunes contributed to this. The ecosystem of the island of Lobos, north of Fuerteventura, has also been designated as a nature reserve.
The bareness of Fuerteventura’s landscape makes it reminiscent of the Sahara desert, the difference being that its bareness is dotted with palm oases and rugged mountain ranges. Also, Fuerteventura’s desert-like landscape is hemmed in by the natural boundaries of its coast: bays skirted by rocks, shadowy beaches and quiet fishing villages.
Just like Fuerteventura, the ocean around it offers lots of things to see too: whales, dolphins, marlins and turtles are regularly spotted. This attracts many sailors, divers and fishermen.
Fuerteventura has no fewer than 55 kilometres of beaches – more than any of the other Canary Islands.
Barranco (ravine) in the western mountain area near Betancuria.
Climate
Ever since the times of the ancient Greeks, the Canary Islands have been known for their healthy climate. Today travellers from all over the world still visit the islands to recuperate. The Canaries’ mild temperatures, many hours of sunshine, clean sea air and their abundance of natural resources make the islands a true wellness paradise.
Fuerteventura owes its dry climate to volcanic eruptions and the Sahara winds. It is part of a zone characterised by a hot desert climate with dry summers. There is not enough precipitation in this type of area for trees to grow and for rivers to stay. There is hardly any rain in a hot desert climate, but when it does rain, it often comes down in heavy downpours.
With an average temperature of 23.5 °C (measured during day and night), August is the hottest month. The coldest month is January, with an average temperature of 16.5 °C. The temperature of the sea water is relatively constant too – between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius. With an average amount of rain of 31mm, December is the wettest month.
The weather information below is based on climate data that have been gathered over a period of 40 years.
| Month | Average maximum temperature (Celsius) | Average minimum temperature (Celsius) | Average precipitation (mm) |
| January | 19,7 | 13,5 | 22 |
| February | 19,8 | 13,7 | 17 |
| March | 21,3 | 14,3 | 13 |
| April | 21,3 | 14,4 | 6 |
| May | 22,8 | 16,2 | 2 |
| June | 24,7 | 17,7 | 0 |
| July | 26,9 | 19,3 | 0 |
| August | 27,5 | 19,3 | 0 |
| September | 26,5 | 19,5 | 4 |
| October | 25,7 | 18,2 | 10 |
| November | 22,5 | 16,8 | 21 |
| December | 19,8 | 14,5 | 31 |
Fuerteventura is sometimes referred to as ‘the Island of Eternal Spring‘. There is only 150 mm rain per year (England: about 700 mm, Scotland and Wales: more than 1,000 mm, Northern Ireland: about 900 mm per year). Most of the rain occurs during winter time. Sunshine hours are a whopping 3,000 per year (UK: 1,200 – 1,600 sunshine hours per year).
What’s more, there is scientific evidence suggesting that Fuerteventura has more hours of sunshine than any other holiday destination in Europe!
As a result of the Canary Islands being located much more closely to the equator than the UK (they are at approximately the same latitude as Florida), the length of the day varies a lot less than in the British Isles. Sunrise varies from 7:00 (June) tot 8:00 am (October – January). ). Taking into account the change from summer to winter time, sunset happens between 6:10 pm (November – December) tot 9:00 pm (June – July).
Water & energy
With such little rain falling on Fuerteventura, the source of most of the tap water is the ocean. Fuerteventura’s desalination plants run on electricity that has been generated using petroleum. The use of solar energy is limited. Fuerteventura’s second wind farm was approved recently. So far, however, less than 10% of the energy used on Fuerteventura is sustainable.
There is an imposing wind farm just west of Costa Calma. Our hiking package includes a walk passing this wind farm on our way to the rough west coast.
Wind farm near Costa Calma.
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