Las Palmas (province)
Encyclopedia
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, consisting of the eastern part of the autonomous community
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
of the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
Composition
It consists of about half of the AtlanticAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
archipelago, including the islands of Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
, Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura , a Spanish island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28°20' north, 14°00' west. At 1,660 km² it is the second largest of the Canary Islands, after Tenerife...
, and Lanzarote
Lanzarote
Lanzarote , a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands...
, as well as another six minor isles (Alegranza
Alegranza
Alegranza is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, located off the coast of Africa and is in the province of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Spain. It is the northernmost point in the Canary Islands .- Geographical overview :...
, Graciosa
Graciosa, Canary Islands
There is also a Graciosa in the Azores, see GraciosaGraciosa Island or commonly La Graciosa is a volcanic island in the Canary Islands of Spain, located 2 km north of the island of Lanzarote with the strait named Río. It was formed by the Canary hotspot...
, Montaña Clara
Montaña Clara
Montaña Clara is a small islet belonging to the so-called Chinijo Archipelago, in the northeastern part of the Canary Islands, only a short distance northwest of La Graciosa. The islet is only 1.33 km²...
, Lobos
Lobos Island
Lobos Island is a small island of the Canary Islands located just 2 km north of the island of Fuerteventura. Politically it belongs to the municipality of La Oliva, on the island of Fuerteventura. It has an area of 4.6 km². It has been a nature reserve without permanent human population...
, Roque del Este
Roque del Este
Roque del Este is an uninhabited island in the Canary Islands located 12 km northeast of the island of Lanzarote. The opposite of the island is Graciosa. The island is part of the Chinijo Archipelago...
, and Roque del Oeste
Roque del Oeste
Roque del Oeste is an uninhabited islet located 0,6 km north of the island of Montaña Clara, in the northeasternmost part of the Canary Islands, the Chinijo Archipelago....
). Their total land area is 4,065.78 km² (1,569.8 sq mi), representing 54.6% of the Canary Islands' total land. (The other half of the archipelago is the Province of Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province)
Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife also Province of Santa Cruz is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic archipelago, including the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma, and...
.)
General view
Its capital is the city of Las Palmas de Gran CanariaLas Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...
(commonly known as Las Palmas) , on the island of Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
, which is also one of the capitals of the autonomous community (next to Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital , second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009...
). About 38.5% of the provincial population of 1,011,928 (2005) live in the capital. However, the official name of the city is Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, whereas the province is called Las Palmas. Nevertheless, both names are usually misused. There are 34 municipalities in the province; see List of municipalities in Las Palmas.
Las Palmas contains the Parque Nacional Timanfaya on the island of Lanzarote.
License plates in the province used to start with "GC", which referred to the island of Gran Canaria, although the same plates were also issued in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
Main sights (Gran Canaria)
- Bandama CalderaBandama CalderaThe Bandama Natural Monument is part of the Tafira Protected Landscape on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, Spain. It's considered a point of geological interest, because of the Caldera de Bandama...
(Bandama Natural Monument) in Santa Brígida, Las PalmasSanta Brígida, Las PalmasVilla de Santa Brígida is a Canarian municipality in the northeastern portion of the island of Gran Canaria in the Province of Las Palmas of the Canary Islands. The suburbs of Las Palmas. The population is 18,817 , its density is 790.3/km² and the area is 23.81 km²...
is part of the Tafira Protected Landscape. It's considered a point of geological interest, because of the Caldera de Bandama. This volcanic calderaCalderaA caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
reaches 569 m (1,866.8 ft) above sea level at the highest point on its rim, Pico de Bandama, and is about 1000 m (3,280.8 ft) wide and 200 m (656.2 ft) deep. The steep walk to the bottom of the caldera takes about half an hour. Volcanic ash of different hues is in great abundance, and there are some interesting botanic species of Canary Islands origin. There are facilities for food and refreshments as well. - Archaeological sites in Santa Brígida. In the valley of La Angostura and Las Meleguinas can find numerous traces of Aboriginal canaries that have prompted the declaration of the area as a Cultural, as groups of caves carved into rock, silos or sidewalks. In the archaeological site of El Tope, discovered on 16 July 1988, where you can see remnants that suggest the existence of an aboriginal burial mound, as well as ceramics, pottery and curious pintaderas. En la pared norte de la Caldera de Bandama se encuentra la Cueva de los Canarios, utilizada por los aborígenes como granero. It has been discovered Libyan-Berber inscriptions and some vessels (which are now in the Museo Canario). Also in the same area in the wall of the volcano in the stew is the Cueva de Los Frailes was discovered in 1933 a set of 37 caves.
- Church of San Juan Bautista (also vulgarly known as Catedral de Arucas due to its big size) built entirely in Arucas stone by local master masons, and it dates from 1909 (Initial Configuration from the 17th century). Apart from the wealth of the carved stone columns and column heads, there are also some beautiful stained glass windows, the works of Canary Island painter Cristobal Hernandez de Quintana, and an extraordinary carving of the Reclining Christ, by Manuel Ramos.
- Jardín de la Marquesa de Arucas - Botanical Garden in Arucas.
- Iglesia de San Juan Bautista de Telde is the true spiritual centre of Telde. Located in the square of the same name and founded in 1483, the old church was erected by the Garcia del Castillo family at the time of the town's foundation. It still has the original gateway, an example of Sevillian–Portuguese GothicManuelineThe Manueline, or Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral...
architecture. The towers, however, are an example of early 20th neo-Gothic construction. The real marvels are inside the building: the statue of Christ on the main altar, made from corn dough by the Tarasco Mexican IndiansP'urhépechaThe P'urhépecha, normally spelled Purépecha in Spanish and in English and traditionally referred to as Tarascans, are an indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, principally in the area of the cities of Uruapan and Pátzcuaro...
, brought here before 1550, the FlemishFlemish peopleThe Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
Gothic main altar, which dates back to before 1516, and the triptych of the Virgin Mary, brought from FlandersFlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, also in the 16th century, depicting five religious scenes. - Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pino in TerorTerorTeror is a Canarian municipality in the northern portion of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. Teror is a suburb of Las Palmas city...
from 1760. - Archaeological sites in Telde. Telde has 101 archaeological sites and 709 listed assets of ethnographic interest. In regard to the aboriginal time deposits, each year it expands its number or discover new aspects of old fields, but most are in disrepair and many are disappearing. Some of the most prominent are the coastal town of Tufia in good condition and extensively excavated by archaeologists, four doors located on top of a mountain overlooking the plain teldense and consists of a large cave with four doors and its name suggests, plus a ALMOGAREN (religious vessel) at the top and a village of caves with collective barn in the back, the caves of Tara and Cendro remains of the ancient center of population, the town of Draguillo on the border with Ingenio, Las Cuevas Chalasia which consist of a labyrinthine series of artificial caves linked by tunnels and the impressive NecropolisNecropolisA necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
of Jinámar which includes more than 500 tombs of various types belonging to the old canary. - Basílica de San Juan Bautista in Telde
- Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pino in TerorTerorTeror is a Canarian municipality in the northern portion of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. Teror is a suburb of Las Palmas city...
from 1760.