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
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
• Total	43.38 km2 (16.75 sq mi)
Elevation	4 m (13 ft)
Population  (2013)
• Total	16,330
• Density	380/km2 (970/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Santacrucero,ra
Time zone	WET
• Summer (DST)	WEST
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), its area is 43.38 km². Around 13,000 people live within the city limits, with the remaining population residing in other settlements.

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 Planto
  • 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.

Mountain view of Santa Cruz looking south.

Panorama of Santa Cruz harbor.

Panorama of Santa Cruz expansion to the north.

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 (91.0)	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)
Mean daily maximum °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)	23.3 (74.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	18.1 (64.6)	18.0 (64.4)	18.5 (65.3)	18.9 (66.0)	20.0 (68.0)	21.7 (71.1)	23.1 (73.6)	23.9 (75.0)	24.0 (75.2)	22.8 (73.0)	20.9 (69.6)	19.3 (66.7)	20.8 (69.4)
Mean daily minimum °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)	18.2 (64.7)
Record low °C (°F)	9.4 (48.9)	10.9 (51.6)	10.2 (50.4)	10.0 (50.0)	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 (50.0)	10.0 (50.0)	9.4 (48.9)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	49 (1.9)	57 (2.2)	33 (1.3)	19 (0.7)	7 (0.3)	2 (0.1)	1 (0.0)	1 (0.0)	12 (0.5)	41 (1.6)	70 (2.8)	80 (3.1)	372 (14.5)
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

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

• Manolo Blahnik, world-famous shoemaker

Gallery

• 
  The neighborhood of San Telmo
• 
  Church of Santo Domingo, Santa Cruz de La Palma 2017.
• 
  Church of Santo Domingo, Santa Cruz de La Palma 2017.
• 
  Traditional Santa Cruz architecture.
• 
  Traditional Santa Cruz home exterior.
• 
  Santa Cruz street scene 2017.

See also

• List of municipalities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

External links

• Official website Template:Es
• "Santa Cruz de La Palma" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.