CANARY ISLANDS (Canarias)  , a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean; about 6o m . W. of the African coast, between 27° 40' and 29° 30' N., and between 13° 20' and 18° ro' W . Pop . (1900) 358,564; area 2807 sq. m . The Canary Islands resemble a roughly-drawn semicircle, with its convex side facing south-wards, and with the island of Hierro detached on the south-west . More precisely, they may be considered as two groups, one of which, including Teneriffe, Grand Canary, Palma, Hierro and ~adCaMplida Pt . Palma ~S• de is Palma Gomera, consists of mountain peaks, isolated and rising directly from an ocean of great depth; while the other, comprising Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and six uninhabited islets, is based on a single submarine plateau, of far less depth . Teneriffe and Gomera, the only members of the principal group which have a common base, may be regarded as the twin peaks of one great volcanic mass . Ever since the researches of Leopold von Buch the Canary Islands have been classical ground to the student of volcanic action .