Alta Vista, Canary Islands, Spain

Alta Vista, Canary Islands, Spain: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Alta Vista is a submarine cable landing point located in the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. Its position within this island group gives it a geographic role distinct from Spain's mainland landing points, placing it at a natural junction between European and West African submarine cable routes. Three submarine cables land at Alta Vista, making it one of the more active landing points among the Canary Islands and matching the cable count of several of Spain's mainland hubs.

The most significant of the three cables landing here is SAT-3/WASC, a major intercontinental system connecting the Canary Islands to a series of West African nations. The two remaining cables, TRANSCAN-3 and CANDALTA, are shorter inter-island systems linking Alta Vista to other points within Spain, supporting connectivity across the Canary Islands and to the Spanish mainland. Together, these three cables give Alta Vista both an intercontinental dimension and an intra-national one.

Cables Landing at Alta Vista, Canary Islands, Spain

SAT-3/WASC is an intercontinental submarine cable system with a total length of 14,350 km, which entered service in 2002. From Alta Vista, this cable connects to Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, and Ghana, forming a major link along the West African coast. Its reach across multiple countries positions Alta Vista as a gateway between European territory and the African Atlantic seaboard.

TRANSCAN-3 is a shorter regional cable measuring 210 km, which entered service in 2000. It connects Alta Vista to other landing points within Spain, functioning as an intra-national link within the broader Spanish cable network, likely serving inter-island or island-to-mainland connectivity needs.

CANDALTA is a 110 km cable that entered service in 1999. Like TRANSCAN-3, it connects Alta Vista to other Spanish landing points, providing a further layer of domestic submarine connectivity within the Spanish national network.

Regional Context

Within Spain, Alta Vista shares a cable count of three with several other landing points including Barcelona, Bilbao, Granadilla de Abona, Santa Cruz de La Palma, and Valencia. Among Canary Islands landing points specifically, it stands above Arrecife, which hosts two cables. Alta Vista and Santa Cruz de La Palma each represent the Canary Islands' more connected nodes within Spain's broader network of 34 submarine cables across 46 landing points.

Network Role

Alta Vista functions as a multi-cable hub serving two distinct connectivity corridors. Through SAT-3/WASC, it provides a direct intercontinental link to six West African nations, making it one of the relatively few Spanish landing points with a direct African connection. Through TRANSCAN-3 and CANDALTA, it participates in the domestic Spanish cable network, reinforcing intra-archipelago and island-to-mainland links.

The combination of an intercontinental cable and two regional domestic cables at a single Canary Islands location reflects the archipelago's natural role as a stepping stone in the Atlantic. In the regional submarine cable graph, Alta Vista represents a node where African-facing international capacity and Spanish domestic capacity converge within the same coastal infrastructure.