Santa Cruz de la Palma
Encyclopedia : S : SA : SAN : Santa Cruz de la Palma
| Santa Cruz de La Palma | ||
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| Statistics | ||
| Autonomous region: | Canary Islands | |
| Province: | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | |
| Island: | Tenerife | |
| Area: | 43.38 km² (30.82 km² in 2003) | |
| Population: | 17,857 (2001) | |
| Population density: | 411.64/km² | |
| Length of coastline | 4.03 km | |
| Elevation: Lowest: Centre: Highest: | Atlantic Ocean 4 m | |
| Subdivisions: | 9 neighborhoods 5 settlements | |
| Postal code: | E-38700 | |
| Location: | 28.6833/28°41' N lat. 17.7667/17°46' W long. | |
| Municipal code: | E-38037 | |
| Car designation: | TF
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| Politics | ||
| Mayor: | Juan Ramón Felipe San Antonio (CC) 1st term (2005) | |
Santa Cruz de la Palma (Spanish for the Holy Cross) is located on the eastern part of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the largest city and is the capital of the island. Santa Cruz de La Palma is linked with a main highway encircling every part of the island and is located north of the La Palma Airport.
The population is 17,857 (2001 estimate), its density is 411/km² and the area is 43.38 km². The elevation is 300 m at San Pedro. Breña Baja offers a panoramic view of La Gomera to the southeast.
Subdivisions
- City neighborhoods:
- *La Luz
- *San Telmo
- *San Sebastián
- *El Puente
- *Benahoare
- *La Alameda
- *La Calle Real
- *El Pilar
- *El Marquito
- Settlements:
- *Velhoco
- *Las Nieves
- *La Dehesa
- *La Encarnación
- *El Planton
- *El Carmen
- *Mirca
History
The city was founded by Alonso Fernández de Lugo on May 3, 1493. It was located between a river which is situated by a cave named Tedote (now Cueva de Carías, located north of the city). The city, originally called Villa del Apurón, served as a port that connected routes to the Americas, exporting goods from the island such as sugarcane. The city was sacked by pirates and was later reconstructed and fortified against future pirate attacks. Famous fortifications include the Castillo de Santa Catalina and Castillo de la Virgen. The economic crisis that affected the agriculture sector brought the greatest loss of population in the city's history, which limited its expansion and caused the population to stabilize and drop to 11,000. The population did not approach its original 18,000 again for the next hundred years.
Information
The coastline and the valley areas were made up of farmlands, the remaining are around Santa Cruz de la Palma and the eastcentral core are made up of urban areas especialy hotels, apartments, towers and colorful homes uphill northwest. Santa Cruz de la Palma has a port serving ferry routes to the nearest large Iberian port Cádiz in Spain as well as Los Cristianos (Tenerife), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Arrecife and do not serve Fuerteventura or El Hierro and is the only major port in the island.
| Municipalities of La Palma |
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|---|---|
| Barlovento | Breña Alta | Breña Baja | Fuencaliente | Garafía | Los Llanos de Aridane El Paso | Puntagorda | Puntallana | San Andrés y Sauces | Santa Cruz de La Palma Tazacorte | Tijarafe | Villa de Mazo |
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