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This article is about one of the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish For other similar names, see Palma (disambiguation).
La Palma
Flag of La Palma
Flag of La Palma
Geography
Location Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates 28°40′N, 17°52′W
Archipelago Canary Islands
Area 706 km²
Highest point Roque de los Muchachos
2,423 m
Administration
Flag of Spain Spain
Autonomous Community Canary Islands
Province Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Largest city Los Llanos de Aridane (19,659 (2004))
Demographics
Population 86,062 (as of 2006)
Density 121/km²

Isla de La Palma (more correctly known in English as "La Palma" and is not to be confused with "Palma" in the Balearic Islands), is a volcanic ocean island in Spain. The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish Roque de los Muchachos translates into English as The Rock Of The Boys, and is the name given to the rocky mound at the highest point on the island of La Palma in Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. An autonomous community is a first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution. The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish In addition to its autonomous communities, Spain is divided into fifty Provinces. History This province was established when in 1927 when the Canarias province (with Santa Cruz de Tenerife as the capital city divided into two provinces Subdivisions Los Llanos Argual La Laguna Todoque Las Manchas Puerto Naos It is one of the seven major (there are also two minor) Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off of the west coast of Africa. The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish It is located at 28°40′N, 17°52′W. The name "Isla de La Palma" means "The Island of Palms," or "Palm Island. "

La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The total population is about 85,000, of which 18,000 (2003 data) live in the capital, Santa Cruz de la Palma and about 20,000 (2004 data) in Los Llanos de Aridane. Subdivisions City neighborhoods La Luz San Telmo San Sebastián El Puente Benahoare La Alameda Subdivisions Los Llanos Argual La Laguna Todoque Las Manchas Puerto Naos

La Palma, like the other islands of the Canary Island archipelago, is a volcanic ocean island. The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish The volcano rises almost 7 km above the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

La Palma's geography is a result of the volcanic formation of the island. Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the The highest peaks reach over 2400 m above sea level, and the base of the island is located almost 4000 m below sea level. The northern part of La Palma is dominated by the Caldera de Taburiente, with a width of 9 km and a depth of 1500 m. Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente is a national park on the island of La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, located at. It is surrounded by a ring of mountains ranging from 1600 m to 2400 m in height. Only the deep Barranco de las Angustias canyon leads into the inner area of the caldera which is a national park. It can be reached only by hiking. The outer slopes are cut by numerous gorges which run from 2000 m down to the sea. Today, only few of these carry water due to the many water tunnels that have been cut into the islands structure.

In 1815, the great German geologist Leopold von Buch visited the Canary Islands. Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Christian Leopold Freiherr von Buch ( April 26, 1774 - March 4, 1853) was a German Geologist and Paleontologist It was as a result of his visit to La Palma and Tenerife where he visited the Las Cañadas and Taburiente calderas, that the Spanish word for bowl - "Caldera" was introduced into the geological vocabulary. A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption

From the Caldera de Taburiente to the south runs the ridge Cumbre Nueva. The southern part of La Palma is dominated by the Cumbre Vieja, a volcanic ridge formed by numerous volcanic cones built of lava and scoria. Cumbre Vieja ( Spanish: "Old Ridge" is an active volcanic ridge on the volcanic ocean island of Isla de La Palma in the Canary Islands The Cumbre Vieja is active - but dormant, with the last eruption occurring in 1971 at the Teneguia vent which is located at the southern end of the Cumbre Vieja - Punta de Fuencaliente, (The Point of the Hot Fountain). Teneguía is a Volcano situated on the island of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands.

La Palma is dominated by the colours blue, green and black. Blue represent the surrounding ocean, Green represents the abundant plant life (which is the most diverse in the Canary Islands) and Black comes from the volcanic rocks that forms the landscape and the numerous playas (beaches) of black sand. Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles

Contents

Government

The island is part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In addition to its autonomous communities, Spain is divided into fifty Provinces. See also Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province. Historical population In 1990 the population slowly boomed above the 200000 mark falling The island is divided into 14 municipalities:

Volcano

Satellite image of La Palma, with the Caldera de Taburiente visible (north is to the lower right)
Satellite image of La Palma, with the Caldera de Taburiente visible (north is to the lower right)
A view looking south, of La Palma from its highest point
A view looking south, of La Palma from its highest point
Caldera de Taburiente
Caldera de Taburiente

The island originally formed as a seamount (e. Historical population Other Barlovento has schools a few lyceums a gymnasium churches a small beach a small port a post office and a few squares Subdivisions The municipality has 13 subdivisions or "parishes" (population figures from 2005 Bajamar Botazo (pop 389 Breña Subdivisions The municipality has 8 subdivisions or "parishes" (population figures from 2005 San Antonio (1128 persons San José (1042 History Many footpaths already crisscrossed La Palma before the Spanish conquest Geography The coastline and the valley areas are made up of farmlands while the mountainous areas are forested or grassy to the central and the northern parts Subdivisions History Information Sites of interest--> Historical population Persons--> Other Subdivisions Los Llanos Argual La Laguna Todoque Las Manchas Puerto Naos Subdivisions History Information Sites of interest--> Historical population Persons--> Other Subdivisions History Information Sites of interest--> Historical population Other Puntallana has schools a few Subdivisions History Information Sites of interest--> Historical population Persons--> Other Subdivisions City neighborhoods La Luz San Telmo San Sebastián El Puente Benahoare La Alameda Subdivisions History Information Sites of interest--> Historical population Persons--> Other Subdivisions History Information Sites of interest--> Historical population Persons--> Other Sites of interest--> Subdivisions The population data are as of 2005 El Pueblo (pop 556 Monte de Breña (pop 480 Monte Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente is a national park on the island of La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, located at. A seamount is a Mountain rising from the Ocean Seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface ( Sea level) and thus is not an Island g. Loihi), by submarine volcanic activities like all of the Canary Islands. Lōihi is a Seamount and undersea Volcano in the Hawaiian archipelago, located at 18 The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish La Palma is currently the most volcanically active of the Canary Islands and was formed 3-4 million years ago. Its basement lies almost 4,000 m below sea level and reaches a height of 2426 m above sea level. Approximately 500,000 years ago the volcano Taburiente collapsed with a giant landslide which formed the Caldera de Taburiente. Historic (since the Spanish occupation) eruptions occurred as follows:

During the 1949 eruption from the Duraznero, San Juan and Hoyo Negro vents on the Cumbre Vieja an earthquake with an epicentre near Jedy occurred. Year 1712 ( MDCCXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Teneguía is a Volcano situated on the island of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. Cumbre Vieja ( Spanish: "Old Ridge" is an active volcanic ridge on the volcanic ocean island of Isla de La Palma in the Canary Islands This caused a 2. 5 km long rift to open - width ~1 m and depth ~2 m (Rubio Bonelli, 1950). Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

In a BBC Horizon program broadcast on October 12, 2000, two geologists (Day and McGuire) cited this rift as proof that half of the Cumbre Vieja had slipped towards the Atlantic Ocean (Day et al. Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. , 1999; Ward and Day, 2001). They suggested that this process was driven by the pressure caused by the rising magma heating water trapped within the structure of the island. Magma (Plurals magmas and magmata) is molten rock that sometimes forms beneath the surface of the Earth (or any other Terrestrial planet They hypothesised that during a future eruption, the western flank of the Cumbre Vieja, with a mass of approximately 1. Cumbre Vieja ( Spanish: "Old Ridge" is an active volcanic ridge on the volcanic ocean island of Isla de La Palma in the Canary Islands 5 x1015 kg, would slide into the ocean. This would then generate a giant wave which they termed a "megatsunami" around 900 m high in the region of the islands. Mega-tsunami (also known as iminami or "wave of purification" is an informal term to indicate a Tsunami that has initial Wave heights that are The wave would radiate out across the Atlantic and inundate the eastern seaboard of North America including the American, the Caribbean and northern coasts of South America some six to eight hours later. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting They estimate that the tsunami will have waves possibly 90 metres or more high causing massive devastation along the coastlines. Modelling suggests that the tsunami could inundate up to 25 km inland - depending upon topography.

The claim was also explored in a BBC docu-drama called End Day which went through several hypothetical scenarios of disastrous proportions. End Day is a 2005 Docu-drama produced by the BBC and aired on the National Geographic Channel, on the TV series National

However, the Tsunami Society (Pararas-Carayannis, 2002), published a statement stating ". The Tsunami Society is a research organization founded in 1982 that studies Tsunamis and seeks to supply information about them to the public . . We would like to halt the scaremongering from these unfounded reports . . . " The major points raised in this report include:

Other workers also disagree with the hypothesis of Day et al; (1999) and Ward and Day (2001).

There is however, a consensus by geologists and volcanologists that edifice failure (large-scale collapses or mass wasting) of volcanic islands does occur and that large tsunamis have occurred in the Atlantic in the geological past. Despite this there is still no evidence reliably proving a cause and effect. All the documented large scale tsunamis in the Atlantic have been verifiably attributed to underwater earthquakes and not island collapses. Evidence of Tsunami deposits has been reported from the Caribbean and the Canary Islands. Since the 1990s the area has been (and continues to be), monitored and no movement has been detected. Ongoing and recent (2008) monitoring shows that the dimensions accord with those recorded in 1949. Thereby indicating that the block has not moved since 1949. Controversial evidence on the island of Bermuda is said to be tsunamite deposited by a tsunami that was generated by edifice failure on the adjacent island of Hierro.

The actual distances involved in the 1949 rift are as follows: horizontal ~1 metre, vertical ~2 metres. Volume involved of the whole of the Cumbre Vieja is ~5 x 1011 m3 with an estimated mass of 1. Cumbre Vieja ( Spanish: "Old Ridge" is an active volcanic ridge on the volcanic ocean island of Isla de La Palma in the Canary Islands 5 x 1015 kg.

Fauna

The following animals live on La Palma :

History

The Canary Islands had been settled by the native Canarians called Guanches whose origin is still controversial but believed to be ancestors of the Berbers of North Africa. Centipedes (from Latin prefix centi-, "hundred" and Greek ποδός podos, " Foot " are Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. They have several different basic morphologies that represent several different cnidarian classes including the Sea urchins are small globular spiny sea cat animals composing most of class Echinoidea. Geckos are small to average sized Lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae which are found in warm climates throughout the world See also Canary Islands in pre-colonial times Guanches (also Guanchis or Guanchos) now extinct as a distinct people were the first known They had a Neolithic culture divided into several clans led by chiefs. Their name for La Palma was Benahoare. Benahoare was the native Guanche name for the Spanish island of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. The main remnants of this culture are their cave dwellings, enigmatic petroglyphs and paved stone paths through the mountains. Petroglyphs are Images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising pecking carving and abrading After the Spanish occupation of La Palma, the native Canarians vanished by either being killed, sold into slavery or by assimilating into the Spanish population.

It is probable that the Canary Islands were known to the Phoenicians and the Greeks. The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions The Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello reached the archipelago in 1312 and remained for two decades until expelled by a native uprising. Lancelotto Malocello ( Latin: Lanzarotus Marocelus; French: Lancelot Maloisel; fl In 1404 the Spaniards began the conquest of the islands. Though the first landing on La Palma was in 1405, it took until 1493 and several bloody battles until the last resistance of the natives was broken. The conqueror of La Palma was Alonso Fernández de Lugo, who defeated Tanausu, the last king on the island. Javier Alonso Luis Fernández de Lugo (?-1525 was a Spanish military man Conquistador, City founder and administrator Tanausu (also Tanausú and Atanausu) (d 1493) was the Guanche ruler of Aceró on the island of La Palma (known to the original He ruled the area known as Acero (Caldera de Taburiente). Tanausu was ambushed after agreeing to a truce arranged by Fernández de Lugo and Juan de Palma, a Guanche who had converted to Christianity and who was a relative of Tanausu. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings

For the next two centuries, settlements on La Palma became rich as the island served as a trading post on the way to the New World. The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. La Palma received immigrants from Castile, Portugal, Majorca, Flanders, and Catalonia. A former kingdom, Castile (Castilla kasˈt̪iʎa or) gradually merged with its neighbors to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Majorca ( Spanish and Mallorca is the largest island of Spain. Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Catalonia (Cataluña Catalunya Aranese: Catalonha) is an Autonomous Community in the northeast part of Spain.

Transportation

La Palma has a road network of some 1,200 km. All the main roads are asphalted and in a good state, although there are many sharp bends, some very narrow. In order to proceed to some small villages in the north of the island it is necessary to travel on earth tracks. A good paved road approximately 180 km, circumscribes the island. Several bus routes exist that unite the main localities on the island running to different timetables. For more details see [1] La Palma Airport serves the Island and several airlines run services to and from it. La Palma Airport is an airport located on La Palma in the Canary Islands.

Water tunnels

The most famous structures of La Palma are the minas galerias (water tunnels) which carry the water from sources in the mountains to cities, villages and farms (mainly banana plantations). La Palma receives almost all of its water supply due to the maar de nuebles clouds carried on the prevailing wind which blows from the north-east Trade Winds. A cloud is a visible mass of droplets or frozen crystals floating in the atmosphere above the surface of the Earth or another Planetary body The trade winds (also called trades) are the prevailing pattern of easterly winds found in the Tropics near the Earth's Equator. The water condenses on the long needles of the trees and other vegetation, it then either drips onto the ground or runs down the trunk etc into the ground. Eventually it collects inside the edifice and is then drained via the galerias into aqueducts and pipes for distribution. The galerias have been cut into the rocks over centuries. To visit the galerias a permit is required. It is possible to walk alongside many of the aqueducts, a popular activity for tourists (Compare to the levadas of Madeira). A levada (Portuguese for "led" is an irrigation channel or Aqueduct on the island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean (about southwest of History See also History of Madeira Pre-Portuguese times Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands the position of which with reference to the The tour to the Marcos y Corderos waterfall and springs is also popular.

Observatories

A sea of clouds below the William Herschel Telescope.
A sea of clouds below the William Herschel Telescope. The William Herschel Telescope or WHT was first conceived in the late 1960s when the Anglo-Australian Observatory was being designed
Main article: Roque de los Muchachos Observatory

Due to the location of the island and the height of its mountains, some 2400 m above sea level, a number of international observatories have been built on the Roque de los Muchachos. Roqué de los Muchachos Observatory is an Astronomical observatory located in the municipality of Garafía on the island of La Palma in the Canary An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events Roque de los Muchachos translates into English as The Rock Of The Boys, and is the name given to the rocky mound at the highest point on the island of La Palma in The particular geographical position and climate cause clouds to form between 1000 m and 2000 m, usually leaving the observatories with a clear sky. A cloud is a visible mass of droplets or frozen crystals floating in the atmosphere above the surface of the Earth or another Planetary body Often, the view from the top of the volcano is a sea of clouds covering the eastern part of the island. Telescopes at the observatory include:

The DOT and the SST have been specifically built to study the Sun. MAGIC ( Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov Telescope) is a Gamma-ray telescope situated at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma Gamma rays (denoted as &gamma) are a form of Electromagnetic radiation or light emission of frequencies produced by sub-atomic particle interactions The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System.

References

External links

La Palma island

Tsunami threat?

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