Abstract
Dash and Bosshard1 have reported, on the basis of seismic reflexion and refraction profiling, that the five western islands of the Canary archipelago lie on normal oceanic crust. On the other hand, Lanzarote Island and Fuerteventura Island and Concepcion Bank (constituting the eastern group) seem to rest on continental or sialic crust. They suggest that a fault lies parallel with and westward of Fuerteventura, eastward of which the sediments on the sea floor are 6 km thick. Rothe and Schmincke2 further support this interpretation by suggesting that the western islands are typical oceanic volcanic cones built from sea-floor vents. In contrast, sedimentary strata in the eastern group show strong geological affinities to mainland Africa.
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References
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DIETZ, R., SPROLL, W. East Canary Islands as a Microcontinent within the Africa–North America Continental Drift Fit. Nature 226, 1043–1045 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/2261043b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2261043b0
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