El Hierro: The Island That Runs on Wind and Water
Canary Islands, Spain
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Gorona del Viento
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300
XP
+100 Spain
= 400 total
1 day
El Hierro: The Island That Runs on Wind and Water
300 + 100 XP
El Hierro is the smallest and most westerly of the Canaries and was made a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on 22 January 2000. On 27 June 2014 the Gorona del Viento hydro-wind plant came online — wind turbines pumping water uphill into a volcanic crater when the wind blows, and releasing it through turbines when it does not — with the stated aim of making this the first island in the world running entirely on renewables. Whether it fully achieves that is argued over, which is itself worth understanding. Before longitude was standardised on Greenwich, El Hierro was the prime meridian, which is why it is called the Island of the Meridian.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Go and look at Gorona del Viento and work out how pumping water uphill solves the problem of wind that stops
2
of 5
Find out what the plant actually achieves against what was claimed for it, because the two are argued about
3
of 5
Find out why El Hierro was once the world's prime meridian and what replaced it
4
of 5
Find the wind-deformed sabinas at El Sabinar, junipers bent almost flat by the wind
5
of 5
Dive at La Restinga in the marine reserve, which is the best diving in the archipelago
Go and look at Gorona del Viento and work out how pumping water uphill solves the problem of wind that stops
Find out what the plant actually achieves against what was claimed for it, because the two are argued about
Find out why El Hierro was once the world's prime meridian and what replaced it
Find the wind-deformed sabinas at El Sabinar, junipers bent almost flat by the wind
Dive at La Restinga in the marine reserve, which is the best diving in the archipelago
Before you go
El Hierro has one small airport and a ferry, both weather-dependent. Island roads are steep, narrow and often in cloud.
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About Canary Islands
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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