Macaronesia: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Macaronesia is a modern invented collective name for several groups of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa. The name comes from the Greek for "blessed islands", a term used by ancient geographers for islands to the west of the Straits of Gibraltar.

Though Iceland forms a volcanic island astride the mid-Atlantic ridge, it is not considered part of Macaronesia.

These isolated islands have a unique biogeography. Much of their endemic biota is seriously endangered or extinct.

Macaronesia consists of five archipelagos:

• Azores, (Portugal)
• Canaries, (Spain)
• Cape Verde, (Republic of Cape Verde)
• Madeira, (Portugal)
• Savage Isles (Ilhas Selvagens), (Portugal). The Ilhas Selvagens lie between Madeira and the Canaries.
  • Bibliography of the Ilhas Selvagens