Santa Cruz de La Palma

Santa Cruz de la Palma
Municipality

Santa Cruz de La Palma

Flag
Coat of arms
Santa Cruz de la Palma

Location in the Canary Islands

Coordinates: 28°41′N 17°46′W / 28.683°N 17.767°W / 28.683; -17.767Coordinates: 28°41′N 17°46′W / 28.683°N 17.767°W / 28.683; -17.767
Country  Spain
Autonomous community  Canary Islands
Province Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Island La Palma
Founded 3 May 1493
Government
 • Alcalde Sergio Carlos Matos Castro (Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE))
Area[1]
 • Total 43.38 km2 (16.75 sq mi)
Elevation 4 m (13 ft)
Population (2013)[2]
 • Total 16,330
 • Density 380/km2 (970/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Santacrucero,ra
Time zone WET
 • Summer (DST) WEST (UTC)
Postal code 38700
Official language(s) Spanish
Website Official website

Santa Cruz de la Palma (Spanish for Holy Cross of La Palma) is a city and a municipality in the eastern part of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. It is situated on the east coast. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second largest city (after Los Llanos de Aridane) and is the capital of the island. It is located along an old lava flow coming out from the Caldereta (small caldera), a volcano located just south of the city.

The population of the municipality is 16,330 (2013),[2] its area is 43.38 km².[1] Around 13,000 people live within the city limits, with the remaining population residing in other settlements.

Subdivisions

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.

Climate

Santa Cruz de la Palma has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) featuring very warm, almost rainless summers from April to September, and warm, rainier winters from October to March.

Climate data for La Palma Airport 33m (1981-2010); 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the city.
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.0
(80.6)		 31.0
(87.8)		 32.8
(91)		 36.6
(97.9)		 32.4
(90.3)		 29.4
(84.9)		 38.4
(101.1)		 38.0
(100.4)		 36.8
(98.2)		 34.4
(93.9)		 31.6
(88.9)		 28.0
(82.4)		 38.4
(101.1)
Average high °C (°F) 20.6
(69.1)		 20.7
(69.3)		 21.2
(70.2)		 21.6
(70.9)		 22.6
(72.7)		 24.1
(75.4)		 25.5
(77.9)		 26.3
(79.3)		 26.6
(79.9)		 25.5
(77.9)		 23.5
(74.3)		 21.8
(71.2)		 23.33
(74.01)
Daily mean °C (°F) 18.1
(64.6)		 18.0
(64.4)		 18.5
(65.3)		 18.9
(66)		 20.0
(68)		 21.7
(71.1)		 23.1
(73.6)		 23.9
(75)		 24.0
(75.2)		 22.8
(73)		 20.9
(69.6)		 19.3
(66.7)		 20.77
(69.38)
Average low °C (°F) 15.5
(59.9)		 15.3
(59.5)		 15.7
(60.3)		 16.2
(61.2)		 17.4
(63.3)		 19.2
(66.6)		 20.7
(69.3)		 21.4
(70.5)		 21.3
(70.3)		 20.2
(68.4)		 18.3
(64.9)		 16.7
(62.1)		 18.16
(64.69)
Record low °C (°F) 9.4
(48.9)		 10.9
(51.6)		 10.2
(50.4)		 10.0
(50)		 11.0
(51.8)		 15.2
(59.4)		 14.9
(58.8)		 16.7
(62.1)		 16.4
(61.5)		 15.3
(59.5)		 10.0
(50)		 10.0
(50)		 9.4
(48.9)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 49
(1.93)		 57
(2.24)		 33
(1.3)		 19
(0.75)		 7
(0.28)		 2
(0.08)		 1
(0.04)		 1
(0.04)		 12
(0.47)		 41
(1.61)		 70
(2.76)		 80
(3.15)		 372
(14.65)
Average rainy days 5 4 4 3 1 0 0 0 2 5 7 8 40
Mean monthly sunshine hours 141 146 177 174 192 188 222 209 187 175 140 138 2,106
Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología[3]

Tourism

Santa Cruz de la Palma has the only major port in the island, serving ferry routes to Cádiz in Spain, as well as to Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The main ferry operators in the port are Naviera Armas, Fred. Olsen Express, and Trasmediterránea. Many cruise line firms visit the port.

In Las Nieves is the Real Santuario Insular de las Virgen de las Nieves, the patron saint of the island of La Palma.

Historical population

Year Population
Late-19th century around 18,000
1900 11,000
1991 17,205
1996 17,265
2001 17,265
2002 18,228
2003 18,201
2004 17,857
2008 17,132
2013 16,330

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Instituto Canario de Estadística, area
  2. 1 2 Instituto Canario de Estadística, population
  3. ↑ "Valores climatológicos normales. La Palma Aeropuerto".
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