The island of Tenerife is the largest of the Canary archipelago - 2,053
square kilometres - and it has the shape characteristic of a triangle.
The capital of the island and of the province is Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
which has 220,000 inhabitants. It is a cheerful, light-filled, modern city on a
gentle slope and it is open towards the wide plains in the south. It is the seat
of the military headquarters, La Capitanía General de Canarias, and Santa Cruz
is known as a hospitable, cordial city. Beautiful gardens, especially García
Sanabria, the Municipal Park, and busy streets make it easy for the visitor to
feel at home there.
The island of eternal spring because of its peerless climate is full of huge
contrasts and has a great variety of scenery in the different regions. A
mountain chain runs through its centre from Anaga to Teno and on both of its
slopes there are large, exuberantly fertile valleys, among them especially La
Orotava and Gumar. Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, Spain. A scenic
island, it is dominated by Mt. Teide, a snowcapped volcanic peak ( 3,718 m).
Agriculture and tourism are the island's economic mainstays. Santa
Cruz, capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife prov., is on the island.
In the heart of the chain there is a gigantic, natural crater, called Las Cañadas
del Teide, which is about 29 km across and has officially been declared a
National Park. It lies over 2,000 m above sea level. North of the crater stands
El Pico del Teide, a 3,718 m high mountain, which is the highest point in Spain.
It is snowcovered in the winter and marks the island with its unique silhouette.
Visitors to these islands enjoy excellent weather year round, plus a huge
variety of scenery and terrain. On the island of Tenerife you will find
extremely varied plant life, large wooded mountains, and extensive areas where
banana, tomato, potato and other agricultural products are grown.
Tenerife has an extremely varied plant life, large, wooded mountains,
extensive areas where banana, tomato, potato and other agricultural products are
grown. Its coast is rocky and lined by cliffs in some places, while in others
there are beaches with soft, clean sand, which are sometimes black and sometimes
golden.
The south enjoys a warmer and sunnier climate than the north, making it more
popular with holidaymakers searching for the sun. Whilst rainfall is minimal on
Tenerife, October and February tend to have more than other months in the year.
The average daytime temperatures are about 25°C in summer and 19°C in winter.
The wind is a common feature (people often talk about the famous "trade
winds" on the island) but without these, temperatures can soar to over 40°C.