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Like the rest of the chain, the island is sharply mountainous. It has an area of 278 kmē.
Nicknamed Isla Meridiana ("the meridian island", see below), it is part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is divided into two municipalities, Valverde in the northeast and Frontera in the southwest, both of which contain several villages. The seat of the island government (cabildo insular) is in Valverde town. 10 162 people (2003) live on the island.
Like all the Canary Islands, El Hierro is a tourist destination. It is served by a small airport at Valverde and a ferry terminal, both of which connect to Tenerife.
The island's name in several languages (including French, German, Danish) is Ferro, known in history as the prime meridian in common use outside of the British Commonwealth. Already in the 2nd century A.D., PtolemyThis article is about the geographer and astronomer Ptolemy. For Alexander the Great's general, see Ptolemy I of Egypt. For others, see Ptolemy (disambiguation). Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: Klaudios Ptolemaios; A. circa 85 circa 165), known in English as considered a definition of the zero meridian based on the western-most position of the world, giving maps with only positive (eastern) longitudes. In the year 1634Events Moses Amyraut's Traite de la predestination is published Curacao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Academie francaise The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden, France ruled by Louis XIIILouis XIII ( September 27 1601 May 14 1643) was King of France from 1610 to 1643. Born at the Chateau de Fontainebleau, Louis was the first child of Henri IV and Marie de Medicis. He ascended to the throne at age nine after the assassination of his father and Richelieu decided that Ferro's meridian should be used as the reference on maps, since this island is the most western position of the Old WorldThe Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans before the voyages of Christopher Columbus: Europe, Asia, and Africa. The term is in distinction for the New World, meaning the Americas. Although the interiors of Asia and Africa were not and also thought to be exactly 20 degrees west of ParisEiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. Paris is the capital and largest city of France. The city is built on an arc of the River Seine, and is thus divided into two parts: the Right Bank to the north and the smaller Left Bank to, so indeed the exact position of Ferro was never considered. Old maps (outside of Anglo-America) often have a common grid with Paris degrees at the top and Ferro degrees offset by 20 at the bottom.
It was later found that the actual island of El Hierro itself is in fact 20° 23' 9" west of Paris, but the Ferro meridian was still defined as 20 degrees west of Paris.
The Ferro meridian is 17° 39' 46" west of the Greenwich meridian.