The landscapes of terraces in The Eastern Canaries (Lanzarote and Fuerteventura). Towards a current typology (2018)

Abstract

Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are the most eastern islands of the Canary Island archipelago and those who have a less abrupt relief. Nevertheless, the presence of landscapes of terraces is frequent and, especially, this landscape has a great significant and importance for its singularity and adjustment to the environment. They constitute a rich ethnographic and landscape heritage, but the abandon of the agrarian activity places it in a constant position of threat. The present study realizes a labor of inventory and classification of the agrarian infrastructures in terraces in both islands. From the exploration by means of air images and an intense fieldwork we elaborate the maps of landscape in terraces of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, analyze its distribution and, finally, offer a classification, establishing the following typologies: bancales, cadenas, gavias, traveseros, beberos and nateros.