Are There Canaries in the Canary Islands?

Where Are The Canary Islands?

• First, locate the continent of Africa on the map.

• Now look for the northwest coast of Africa.

• The Canary Islands are a group of volcanic islands about 65 miles off the coast of Northwest Africa.

Canary Islands

How Were The Islands Formed?

• The islands were formed by volcanos erupting on the ocean floor.

• Ocean water cooled the lava, turning it into rock.

• Eventually the rock built up until islands were formed.

Names Of The Islands

• The principal islands in the group are:

• La Palma• Tenerife• La Gomera• El Hierro

How The Islands Got Their Name

• The islands were named by a man called Pliny the Elder.

• He was an ancient Roman historian who studied and wrote about nature.

Pliny the Elder Elder

• Pliny the Elder named the islands: Insulae Canariae, or “Islands of the Dogs,” because of the many large dogs that lived there.

Native Canary Dog

Native Canary Dog

• The name The canary was eventually passed on to the wild finches native to the islands.

Summary

• The Canary Islands are a group of volcanic islands about 65 miles off the coast of Northwest Africa.

• The Roman historian Pliny the Elder named the islands.

• The islands were called “Islands of the Dogs,” because of the many large dogs that lived there.

• The name canary was eventually passed on to the wild finches native to the islands.

Feeling smart?

Take this quiz:

The Canary Islands are located northwest of what large continent?

Answer: Africa

How were the Canary Islands formed?

Answer:The islands were formed by volcanos

erupting on the ocean floor.

Who was the Roman historian who named the Canary Islands?

A) Pliny the Elder B) Pliny the Younger

Answer: A) Pliny the Elder

True or False:

The Canary Islands were originally named for the large dogs

that lived there.

Answer:True

True or false:

The name canary was eventually passed on to the wild turkeys native to the islands.

Answer: FalseThe name canary was eventually passed

on to the wild finches native to the islands

Well done!

(You are smart.)

Works cited:

• Davis, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much About Geography: Everything You Need To Know About the World but Never Learned. New York: William Morrow, 1992. Print.

• N.S. Gill. Ancient/Classical History Glossary. About.com, 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.

• Africa Continent Detailed Physical and Political Map. Map. Vidiani.com. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. http://www.vidiani.com/?p=10985.

• Kilauea Volcano Erupting. Photograph. Google.com. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. http://softpedia.com/progScreenshots/Active-Volcano

• Photos-of-flying-canaries-nb17000. Photograph. Varbak.com. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. http://www.varbak.com/photo/photo-of-flying-cararies

• Canary in the Wild. Photograph. Bio-diversity-Nevis.org. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. http://www.bio-diversity-nevis.org/land_birds1.htm

• Canary Dog. Photograph. Dogster.com.

Web. 06 Nov. 2013. http://www.dogster.com/dogs-breeds/Presa_Canario

• Canary Islands Physical Map. Map. Depositphotos.com. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. http://depositphotos.com/1173259/stock-illustration-Canary-Islands-map.html