Famara is the main mountainous massif in the north of the island of

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. It is the eastern slope of a volcano erupting in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

. The cliffs of Famara (''Risco de Famara'') are the remains of a

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

of about ten kilometres in diameter centred on the south of

La Graciosa Graciosa Island or commonly La Graciosa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "graceful") is a volcano, volcanic island in the Canary Islands of Spain, located north of Lanzarote across the Strait of El Río. It was formed by the Canary hotspot. T ...

. The cliffs of Famara peak at an altitude of 671 m at the Peñas del Chache. A village at the range's seaside is Caleta de Famara, part of Teguise.

Playa de Famara

The beach south of the cliffs of Famara, the Playa de Famara, is one of sand and volcanic pebbles. It is two kilometres long. Its orientation towards the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

makes it suitable for the practice of

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

.Caleta de Famara
(fr) A popular seaside resort, Caleta de Famara, has been built here. It is part of the Teguise municipality.

Environment

The coast north of Famara beach is closed by cliffs and inaccessible to vehicles. It is a remarkable

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

site, with about ten species of

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

plants at the site. All the cliffs of Famara and its coastline are integrated into the natural park of the

Chinijo Archipelago The Chinijo Archipelago () is a small archipelago located in the northeastern part of the Canary Islands, north of the island of Lanzarote. The archipelago includes the islets of Montaña Clara, Alegranza, La Graciosa, Roque del Este and Roque ...

Endemic plants

There are about ten species of endemic plants on the coastal plain at the foot of the Famara cliffs. This endemism has been fostered by isolation dating back more than a million years. File:Astydamia latifolia dans les dunes de Famara.JPG, '' Astydamia latifolia'' File:Reichardia famarae Mirador del Rio.jpg, ' File:Echium famarae.jpg, '

Pollution

Exposed to currents from the west, Famara Beach is a site of waste accumulation from the

North Atlantic garbage patch The North Atlantic garbage patch is a garbage patch of man-made marine debris found floating within the North Atlantic Gyre, originally documented in 1972. Based on a 22-year research study conducted by the Sea Education Association, the patch i ...

References

Bibliography

External links

Risco de Famara

Geomorfología del Risco de Famara. Web oficial del Cabildo. Pag. 1 y 2

Playa de Famara. Ayto. de Teguise
{{coord, 29.12622, -13.52598, region:ES-CN_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Mountain ranges of Spain Mountains of the Canary Islands