Macaronesia

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Macaronesia (Portuguese: Macaronésia; Spanish: Macaronesia) is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of Atlantic oceanic islands, which were formed by seamounts on the ocean floor whose peaks have risen above the ocean's surface. Each of the archipelagos is a distinct political entity: the Azores and Madeira are autonomous regions of Portugal, the Canary Islands is an autonomous community of Spain, while Cape Verde, a former Portuguese colony, is a sovereign state and member of the United Nations. Politically, the islands belonging to Portugal and Spain are parts of the European Union, while Cape Verde is a member of the African Union. Geologically, most of Macaronesia is part of the African tectonic plate. The Azores are located in the triple junction between the Eurasian, African, and North American plates. In one biogeographical system, the Cape Verde archipelago is in...

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