Roque de Bonanza El Hierro Canary Islands
The most westerly and also the smallest of the major Canary Islands, El Hierro has a population of just 10,000, living on an island with an area of 278km2. A mountainous island with over 500 volcanic peaks, El Hierro was actually considerably bigger at one time, but lost a third of its area during a huge volcanic eruprion which took place 50,000 years ago. First settled by the Bimbache tribe, El Hierro later attracted the attention of Castillion and Norman sailors, who seized the island and sold the inhabitants into slavery. The main source of survival for the islanders over the years has been fishing and agriculture and even these days relies mostly on these as tourism has not really taken off on the island due mainly to the scarcity of beaches. The only town of any size on El Hierro is Valverde.