Lanzarote (/ˌlænzəˈrɒti/; Spanish pronunciation: [lanθaˈɾote, lansaˈɾote]) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 kilometres (78 miles) off the coast of Africa and 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.94 square kilometres (326.62 square miles), it is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 141,938 inhabitants, Lanzarote is the third-most populous island of the Canary Islands, after Tenerife and Gran Canaria. In the centre-west of the island is the Timanfaya National Park, which is one of the main attractions of Lanzarote. Its capital is Arrecife.
The first recorded name for the island, given by Angelino Dulcert, was Insula de Lanzarotus Marocelus, after the Genovese navigator Lancelotto Malocello, from which the modern name is derived. The island's name in the native language was Tyterogaka or Tytheroygaka, which may mean "one that is all ochre" (referring to the island's predominant colour).
The island has a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve protected site status. According to a report in the Financial Times, this status was endangered by a local corruption scandal. Since May 2009, police have arrested the former president of Lanzarote, the former mayor of Arrecife and more than 20 politicians and businessmen in connection with illegal building permits along Lanzarote's coastline. UNESCO has threatened to revoke Lanzarote's Biosphere Reserve status, "(i)f the developments are not respecting local needs and are impacting on the environment".
The President of the Cabildo of Lanzarote denied "any threat to Lanzarote's UNESCO status".
The most established festival on the island is held each year on 15 September in the village of Mancha Blanca in the municipality of Tinajo in honour of Our Lady of Sorrows (Virgen de los Dolores), also called Virgin of the Volcanoes (the Patron Saint of Lanzarote). In this pilgrimage people from all over the island, mostly dressed in traditional costumes, participate.
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