Volcanic areas create spectacular landscapes that contain a great diversity of geoheritage.
The study of this geoheritage enables us to inventory, characterise, protect and manage
its geodiversity. The Canary Islands are a group of subtropical active volcanic oceanic
islands with a great variety of magma types and eruption dynamics that give rise to
a wide diversity of volcanic features and processes. The aim of this paper is to identify,
for the first time, the diversity of volcanic geoheritage of the Canary Islands and
to appraise the protection thereof. To this end, a geomorphological classification
is proposed, taking into account the features and processes directly related to volcanism,
such as those resulting from erosion and sedimentary processes. The main findings
demonstrate that the volcanic geoheritage of the Canary Islands is extremely varied
and that this geodiversity is safeguarded by regional, national and, international
protection and management frameworks. Even so, and given the enormous pressure of
coastal tourism on the coastlines of the islands, we believe that continuing efforts
should be made to conserve and manage their volcanic and non-volcanic geoheritage,
so that these places can continue to be enjoyed in the form of geotourism.