El Hierro

  • 1492

    Most Westerly Point on Earth

    the island was considered the most westerly point of land on Earth. When Ptolemy developed the idea of a prime meridian in the second century, he drew the first line through what we now call the Canary Islands.
  • 1546

    New World

    Sailors went drifting for days in calm water off the coast of El Hierro And gave the islanders an image of the Virgin Mary that they had been carrying for delivery to the New World.
  • First Energy Dependent Island

    El Hierro has worked steadily at becoming the first energy-independent island in the world that is powered only by renewable energy sources.
  • UNESCO

    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization named El Hierro a Biosphere Reserve.
  • Oil Company

    The Spanish Minister of Industry gave a national oil company permission to drill three deep-water perforations in the ocean seabed near the Canary Islands.