The Canary Islands consist of seven major islands:

• Tenerife - the biggest island of the Canaries. The capital city is Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The island has two different airports. The highest mountain of Spain, El Teide. (Volcano 3718 meters high)
• Gran Canaria - The largest island by population, its capital city (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) is also the capital of the Canaries.
• Lanzarote - low lying and arid, with a spectacular volcanic landscape in the west of the island. The capital is Arrecife and has its own airport (ACE code).
• La Palma
• La Gomera - The Magic Isle - walker's paradise
• El Hierro
• Fuerteventura - windsurfer's mecca

The marine life found in the Canary Islands is varied, being a combination of North Atlantic, Mediterranean and endemic species. In recent years, the increasing popularities of both scuba diving and underwater photography have provided biologists with much new information on the marine life of the islands.

Fish species found in the islands include many species of shark, ray, moray eel, bream, jack, grunt, scorpionfish, triggerfish, grouper, goby, and blenny. In addition, there are many invertibrate species including sponge, jellyfish, anenome, crab, mollusc, sea urchin, starfish, sea cucumber and coral.

There are a total of 5 different species of marine turtle that are sighted periodically in the islands, the most common of these being the endangered Loggerhead Turtle; however, local fisherman continue to take this endangered species The other four are the Green, Hawksbill, Leatherback and Kemp's Ridley Turtle. Currently, there are no signs that any of these species breed in the islands, and so those seen in the water are usually migrating. However, it is believed that some of these species may have bred in the islands in the past, and there are records of several sightings of leatherback turtle on beaches in Fuerteventura, adding credibility to the theory.

Diving in Fuerteventura - Photo Gallery from Nigel Collingwood, Project Macaronesia