The Chinijo Archipelago () is a small

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

located in the northeastern part of 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 ...

, 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 ...

. The archipelago includes the islets of

Montaña Clara Montaña Clara () (Spanish meaning "light-colored mountain") is a small uninhabited islet belonging to the Chinijo Archipelago, in the northeastern part of the Canary Islands, only a short distance (about ) northwest of La Graciosa Gracios ...

Alegranza Alegranza () is an uninhabited island in the Atlantic Ocean, located off the coast of Africa and is in the province of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Spain. It is the northernmost point in the Canary Islands, and part of the Chinijo Archipela ...

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 ...

Roque del Este Roque del Este (Spanish for "rock of the east") is a small uninhabited island in the Canary Islands, located northeast of the island of Lanzarote. The island is part of the Chinijo Archipelago, which is administratively part of the municipality o ...

and

Roque del Oeste Roque del Oeste (; Spanish for "rock of the west"), also referred to as ''Roque del Infierno'', is an uninhabited islet located 0.6 km northeast of the island of Montaña Clara, in the northeasternmost part of the Canary Islands, the Chinijo ...

. The archipelago is administered by Lanzarote and belongs to the municipality of Teguise. La Graciosa is the only inhabited island, with a population of around 700. The name of the archipelago is a reference to its reduced dimensions as the word ''chinijo'' is a local colloquial adjective used to describe something small. The archipelago is part of the natural park ''Parque natural del Archipiélago Chinijo'', designated in 1986.Boletín Oficial de Canarias
pages 9723 and 9865-7 The natural park, total area , also includes part of the rocky north coast of the island Lanzarote (''los riscos de Famara''). The area of the natural park overlaps with that of a separately designated marine reserve. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

designated a

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

for birds in 1994.

References

External links

* Islands of the Canary Islands Natural parks of Spain Marine reserves of Spain Protected areas of the Canary Islands Archipelagoes of Spain Landforms of the Canary Islands {{Canaries-geo-stub