Lanzarote is the northernmost of the Canary Islands, often known as "volcano island." Its capital is Arrecife, a quiet town of about 30,000 inhabitants. Present day Lanzarote consists of two quite distinct massifs: Famara in the north, and Los Ajaches in the south, where centuries of erosion have sculpted abrupt cliffs and deep ravines, contrasting sharply with the smoothly rounded hills of the island's central region.