File:Canary Islands (MODIS 2015-12-27).jpg

English: On December 18, 2015, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA�s Terra satellite passed over the beautiful Canary Islands and acquired this true-color image of a sunny winter day.

The Canary Islands are said to have once been called the �Fortunate Islands�, likely because of the year-round mild weather. Indeed, some tourist sites state that the islands enjoy �eternal springtime� and that claim isn�t too far off the mark. The average temperature in the coldest month, January, is 17˚C (62˚F), while in August, the warmest month, temperatures average only a little higher: 24˚C (75˚F). The pleasant weather and abundant sunshine help to make the Canary Islands a very popular tourist destination.

The islands are volcanic archipelago that sit in the Atlantic Ocean just southwest of Morocco and west of Western Sahara, both on the African Continent. They form a long chain, with the western-most island lying about 300 mi (113 km) away from the eastern-most island. The seven largest islands, seen in this image are, from east to west are Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma, and El Hierro.