Las Palmas


Las Palmas, officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands in Spain. With a population of 383,516 as of 2024, it is the ninth-largest city in Spain. It is also the fifth-most populous urban area in Spain and, depending on sources, ninth or tenth most populous metropolitan area in Spain.
Las Palmas is located in the northeastern part of Gran Canaria, the third-largest island of the Canary Islands, about west of the African coast in the Atlantic Ocean. Las Palmas experiences a desert climate, offset by the local cooler Canary Current, with warm temperatures throughout the year. It has an average annual temperature of.
The city was founded in 1478, and considered the de facto capital of the Canary Islands until the seventeenth century. It is the home of the Canarian Ministry of Presidency, as well as half of the ministries and boards of the Canarian government, and the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands.

History

The city was founded by Juan Rejón on 24 June 1478, with the name "Real de Las Palmas". Rejón was head of the invading Castilian army, which then engaged in war with the locals.
The war began at the mouth of the Guiniguada ravine, where he settled together with his 30 soldiers El Real de Las Palmas, which today is the district of Vegueta.
The struggle lasted for a period of five years, costing a great number of lives, especially on the aboriginal side, which lacked sufficient means to defend itself against the armies sent by the Catholic monarchs. Even so, resistance was fierce. The end of the conquest came in 1483, with the incorporation of the island into the Crown of Castile by Pedro de Vera, who managed to subjugate the natives of Gáldar in the northwest of the island.
On November 20, 1485, the diocese was transferred from El Rubicón to Real de Las Palmas. The importance of the city grew gradually, with the establishment of the Bishopric of the Canary Islands, the first Court of the Holy Inquisition, the Royal Court of the Canary Islands and the residence of the Captains General of the Canary Islands. Although the capital, as understood from the 19th century onwards, did not exist as such in the archipelago, given that the Captain General's Residence was in Las Palmas, it can be considered that this was the capital of the Canary Islands during part of the 16th and 17th centuries; afterwards, although without legal or real significance, it continued to be considered the honorary capital of the Canary archipelago.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus anchored in the port of Las Palmas for a repair of the rudder of his ship Pinta and spent some time on the neighbour island on his first trip to the Americas. He also stopped there on the way back to Spain. The – a museum in the district of the city – is named after him.
In 1595, Francis Drake tried to plunder the town, leading to the Battle of Las Palmas. A Dutch raid under vice-admiral Pieter van der Does in 1599 was only slightly more successful; some of the town was destroyed, but the raiders were repelled.
Las Palmas' seaport, Puerto de la Luz, the construction of which began in 1883 played significant role in modernizing the city and sped up its advancement. The port benefited greatly from the closure of the Suez Canal from 1967 to 1975 during the Suez Crisis. Many foreign workers migrated to the city at this time.
In 1927, the Province of Canary Islands was split into two provinces: of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria became the capital of the latter, and integrated the islands of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

Administrative divisions

Las Palmas is divided into five administrative districts, which in turn are subdivided into districts, not necessarily consistent with the traditional neighborhoods.
NoDistrictPopulation
1Vegueta, Cono Sur y Tafira73,243
2Centro88,546
3La Isleta-Puerto-Canteras71,412
4Ciudad Alta101,684
5Tamaraceite-San Lorenzo39,191

Geography

The city has four main beaches: Las Canteras, Las Alcaravaneras, La Laja, and El Confital.
  • Playa de Las Canteras is the largest beach in the city, and is frequented throughout the year by city dwellers as well as by large numbers of foreign visitors. The beach lies on the west side of the isthmus of Guanarteme, which links the peninsula of La Isleta, located to the northeast, with the rest of the island of Gran Canaria. The 3,100 m beach is oriented toward the northwest in what is known as Confital bow or bay, and stretches from the foothills of La Isleta until shortly before the mouth of the ravine Tamaraceite. Along much of this length, the beach is sheltered from most of the waves and currents of the Atlantic by a natural barrier of coral sandstone popularly known as "the bar", which is in easy swimming distance from shore. A system for environmental management has been introduced, and the beach has received ISO 14001 certification – one of only three beaches in Spain to do so, namely La Concha in San Sebastián and La Victoria in Cádiz. Inside the beach runs the Paseo de Las Canteras, a wide pedestrian boardwalk, or sidewalk, which runs parallel to the beach from near the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus to the area known as "Puntilla" until reaching Playa del Confital. La Playa de Las Canteras covers three areas that correspond to the arches and inflections that it conducts on the coast. Each presents certain morphological characteristics.
  • Playa de Las Alcaravaneras extends from the rising side of the Isthmus of Guanarteme, an old spit of sand dunes and mountains linking the peninsula of La Isleta, located to the northeast, with the rest of the island of Gran Canaria. It extends from the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria to the new marina breakwater of the city, for just over of fine golden sand. The whole beach is serviced by the promenade, which starts in Las Alcaravaneras, connects with the Playa de San Cristobal, and ends in Playa de La Laja, to the south. The promenade is one of the recreational areas of the city and is popular with people who take the opportunity to walk, run, play sports, or cycle. The tranquility of the bay, and yacht clubs close to the existing beach, make Playa de Las Alcaravaneras a great place to practice sports such as sailing and canoeing. The beach also offers facilities for sports such as beach volleyball, beach soccer or futvóley and court sports such as basketball, indoor soccer, and volleyball.
  • Playa de la Laja, with fine gray sand, is approximately 1200 m long and has an average width of 40 m. Its moderate waves and currents are no longer dangerous since the construction of a dam in the south in the 1990s. At the time, the Ministry of Environment also trawled the seabed to bring sand onto the beach, and the construction of a boardwalk has significantly improved pedestrian access. Due to the intensity of its streams and incoming waves, La Laja has been hailed as a favorite surfers' beach. It is the starting point for boat races that occur every weekend between April and October.
  • Playa del Confital, southwest of the peninsula of La Isleta, is the northern part of the large bay which contains Playa de Las Canteras and Playa del Confital. While Playa de Las Canteras is a long and wide, sandy beach, Playa del Confital is a narrower and mostly hard, volcanic beach equipped with comfortable foot paths and large, slanted slabs of stone suitable for relaxing, exercising and sunbathing. Advanced off the beach surfing replaces swimming as the major water activity on Playa del Confital. Until some years ago, the beach was home to a small shanty town, which has since been eradicated and the land of the Playa del Confital returned to general, public use. Ensuing improvements, however, proved controversial as some environmental organizations and residents questioned the legality of the proceedings. The waves arriving at the beach are highly thought of by amateur and professional surfers alike, some of whom consider the Confital as having one of the best right hand breaks in Europe. Here, the ocean currents form a tube that is used by more experienced surfers for its speed and strong contrasts. Each year, qualifying events for the professional world surfing championship take place on this beach.

    Climate

Las Palmas has a desert climate with tropical climate influences as the average temperature on the coldest month does not drop below. Summers are dry and warm, while winters are also warm. Its average annual temperature is – during the day and at night. In January, the coldest month, the temperature typically ranges from during the day, and around at night, with an average sea temperature at. In the warmest months – August and September – the temperature typically ranges from during the day, above at night, with the average sea temperature at. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare.
August 1990 was the warmest month on record, with the average maximum temperature of the month during the day being. The highest temperature ever recorded was, and the coldest temperature ever recorded was. The highest wind speed ever recorded was on 28 November 2005, measuring. Las Palmas city has never recorded any snow or sleet.
Annual average relative humidity is 66%, ranging from 64% in March to 69% in October. The amount of annual sunshine hours is above 2,800 per year, from around 190 in winter to around 300 in summer. It rains on average only 22 days a year, with total precipitation per year of only.
Climate data for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria-------------
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Average sea temperature °C 20.0
19.1
19.1
19.3
20.0
21.0
21.8
22.5
23.4
23.4
22.1
20.5
21
Mean daily daylight hours11.011.012.013.014.014.014.013.012.011.011.010.012.2
Average Ultraviolet index46891011111197547.9
Source #1: seatemperature.org-------------
Source #2: Weather Atlas-------------