The Teno massif ( es, Macizo de Teno) is one of three volcanic formations that gave rise to

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, Canary Islands, Spain. It is located in the northwestern part of the island between the towns of

Santiago del Teide Santiago del Teide is a town and a municipality in the western part of the island Tenerife, Canary Islands, and part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The area of the municipality is 52.21 km², the population is 12,634 (2013).

Los Silos Los Silos is a municipality and town in the northwestern part of the island Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It is located on the north coast, 57 km West of the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Its name first appears in 1509, when the agricul ...

El Tanque El Tanque is a town and a municipality in the northwestern part of the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. It is located 6 km west of Icod de los Vinos and 53 km west o ...

and

Buenavista del Norte Buenavista del Norte is a municipality and town on the north west coast of Tenerife, located on route TF42, about 75 km west of the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 65 km from Tenerife North Airport and 66 km from Tenerife South Air ...

. The volcanic massif, emerged during the last 5 to 7 million years, is furrowed by deep ravines and ends abruptly in the sea, in an area known as Los Gigantes, a series of high cliffs that plummet over the sea. The villages known as Masca, Teno Alto, Los Carrizales, El Palmar, Las Portelas and Las Lagunetas preserve the old agricultural traditions of Canary Islands. The Teno Rural Park has an area of 8063 hectares, and is characterised by basaltic lava flows and a plant and floristic diversity that varies widely with each insular microclimate. The zones known as Monte del Agua and Laderas del Baracán are renowned for their forests of

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

typical of the vegetation of

Macaronesia Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of Atlantic oceanic islands ...

. ''

Euphorbia balsamifera ''Euphorbia balsamifera'' (balsam spurge) is a flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It is distributed in the Canary Islands and the western Sahara. It is the vegetable symbol of the island of Lanzarote. '' Euphorbia adenensis'' ...

'' and '' Carthamus lanatus'', a variety of

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

, can be found in coastal areas. The Punta de Teno is the westernmost promontory of Tenerife. It is an area renowned for its marine wild-life offering the best areas for diving. 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 de ...

has designated the Macizo de Teno as a special area for the protection and conservation of the large colonies of

pigeons Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

that inhabit the laurel.

Osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily ...

kestrels The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviou ...

and barbary falcons are also commonly sighted. The area also contains archaeological ruins, with the stone edifices belonging to the ancient

Guanche Guanche may refer to: *Guanches, the indigenous people of the Canary Islands *Guanche language, an extinct Berber language, spoken by the Guanches until the 16th or 17th century *''Conus guanche ''Conus guanche'' is a species of sea snail, a ma ...

inhabitants of the island.

External links

* {{Authority control Mountains of the Canary Islands Geography of Tenerife