High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Gran Canaria (in English, "Grand (or Great) Canary") is an island of the Canary Islands. Located in the Atlantic Ocean about 150 kilometers (~93 miles) off the northwestern coast of Africa and about 1350 km (~838 miles) from Europe. Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands after Tenerife. Gran Canaria is also the third in extension Canary Islands.