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The
Canary Islands weren't named for
birds
The Canary Islands, a series
of seven small land masses off the coast of Spain in the
Atlantic Ocean, were named for dogs, not birds.
Believe it? It's
true.
The islands were named by
the Romans and so bore their Latin name: insulae
canariae, or "island of dogs."
The Romans, who conquered
nearly everything in that part of the world at one time or
another, had been to the island and found numerous packs of
wild dogs and not much else. Hence, the name.
They were also known as
the Fortunate Islands and were sometimes identified with
Atlantis.
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Social Studies
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copyright 2002-2011,
David White
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