La Palma

The name La Palma is derived from the “Palm Tree” of which there exists a species native to the Canary Islands.

La Palma is the most northwesterly of all the islands & is also the fifth largest.

La Palma, like the other islands of the Canary Island archipelago, is a volcanic ocean island. The volcano rises almost 7 km (4 mi) above the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. There is road access from sea level to the summit at 2,423 m (7,949 ft), which is marked by an outcrop of rocks called Los Muchachos ("The Lads"). This is the site of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, one of the world's premier astronomical observatories.

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..
Santa Cruz de La Palma (the island's main port) retains many elegant 17th and 18th century houses, and produces high quality hand made cigars made from locally grown tobacco.

The island is part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The island is divided into 14 municipalities:

• Barlovento
  
• Breña Alta
  
• Breña Baja
  
• El Paso
  
• Fuencaliente
  
• Garafía
  
• Los Llanos de Aridane
  
• Puntagorda
  
• Puntallana
  
• San Andrés y Sauces
  
• Santa Cruz de la Palma
  
• Tazacorte
  
• Tijarafe
  
• Villa de Mazo

As with all the Canary Islands, La Palma has several endemic species.
These include Laurel,Juniper,Pine,Sweet Broom & White Broom to name a few.

Several animals are endemic to La Palma, including the La Palma Giant Lizard, the Western Canaries Lizard, Quail & the Red Billed Chough which only lives on La Palma.

The natives of La Palma are more correctly known as Auaritas. The origin of these natives is unclear but they are believed to share common ancestry with the Berbers of North Africa.

La Palma has a road network of some 1,200 km (746 mi). All the main roads are asphalted and in a good state, although there are many sharp bends, some very narrow.
Several bus routes exist that connect the main localities on the island.
La Palma Airport serves the island, and several airlines run services to and from it.

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 mar de nubes (sea of clouds), stratocumulus cloud at 1200-1600 m altitude, carried on the prevailing wind which blows from the north-east Trade Winds. Once condensed, it eventually collects inside the rock-strata, and is then drained via the galerias into aqueducts and pipes for distribution.

To visit the galerias a permit is required. It’s possible to walk alongside many of the aqueducts, a popular activity for tourists &. the tour to the Marcos y Corderos waterfall and springs is also popular.