El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano, is the second-smallest and farthest south and west of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 11,659 (2023). Its capital is Valverde. At 268.51 square kilometres (103.67 sq mi), it is the second-smallest of the eight main islands of the Canaries.
Africa by Gerardus Mercator 1595. 'Fierro' is not yet on the prime meridian, although it is close.
Virgen de la Caridad Chapel
Coast El Golfo, El Hierro
Satellite image of El Hierro
The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco and the Western Sahara. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.
Barranco de Pecenescal – Fuerteventura
View of Fataga, Gran Canaria
The Chinijo Archipelago, seen from Lanzarote
San Cristóbal de La Laguna in 1880 (Tenerife)