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La Palma Info
General data about La Palma
With 728 km2, La Palma is the third smallest of the Canary Islands after Hierro and La Gomera.
Length: 47km, width 29km. Geographical location: 28°40' Northern latitude and
17°52' Northern longitude. La Palma is located in the Atlantic Ocean, cca. 60 km to the
West of the main Canary island Tenerife and 400 km West of Africa. Like all islands of the
Canaries, La Palma is of volcanic origin, separated through a ridge of volcanic peaks into
two different halves, East and West.
La Palma Administration
Together with the islands of El Hierro and La Gomera, La Palma belongs to the Spanish
province of Tenerife. 86,000 people live in 14 provincial districts of La Palma: Barlovento,
Breña Alta, Breña Baja, Fuencaliente, Garafia, Los Llanos de Aridane, El Paso,
Puntagorda, Puntallana, San Andres y Sauces, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Tazacorte, Tijarafe and
Villa de Mazo. The capital is Santa Cruz de La Palma, located on the Eastern side with
20,000 inhabitants. Los Llanos on the Western side is another big city with the same number
of inhabitants, being also an economic center. The local language is Spanish but some locals
speak also German and English. The local currency is Euro.
Weather and climate on La Palma
There is a moderate climate on the island of La Palma during the whole year, like anywhere
else in the Canary Islands. The sun certainly shines here more strongly due to the island
closer location to the tropics, but it does not become too hot in the summer, due to the
trade winds blowing from the North. The climate is mild and relatively balanced with many
hours of sunshine throughout the whole year, according to the weather statistics.
Trade winds
and the Gulf Stream ensure a comfortable cooling in the summer and in the winter for warm
temperatures: with very few annual variations, the temperature reaches between 20-22° C
in February and 26-28° C in August. Therefore, La Palma offers all year the suitable
weather for walking and swimming in the sun, with average temperatures in the Atlantic of
18° C in February and 23° C in August. For some monthly temperature statistics and
live webcams from La Palma, please visit our Weather and
Webcams section.
A further weather phenomenon, which seldomly passes by above La Palma and the Canary
Islands, is the "Calima" or "Levante". This hot, dry desert wind, sweeping from the Sahara
desert, carries some finest yellowish, reddish Sahara dust. During Calima, there are temperatures
of around 40° C. Then, because of the cooling effect of the sea, the higher regions
are considerably hotter than the regions close to the sea. At night, temperatures hardly
cool down on La Palma, and the clear sight is limited through the fine dust. Fortunatelly
Calima does not occur very often, only 2-3 times per year, and has a duration of 2-4 days
each time.
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