La Palma, known in Spanish as 'the green island' or 'beautiful
island'. In the northwest of the Canaries archipelago, a few hundred miles from
the coast of north-west Africa, lies the island of La Palma, also known as La
Isla Bonita, because of its extraordinary natural beauty. It is more like a
Caribbean island blown off course with its green-clad mountains soaring above
oceans of sweet bananas and vineyards. La Palma has the highest altitudes
relative to its perimeter in the world.
In the centre of the island lies the largest known crater of La Cadera de
Taburiente, within a National Park, with a circumference of 28 km full of dense
pine forests and depths of up to 770 m. Roque de los Muchachos at 2,423 m, is
the highest peak and on it is the Astrophysical Observatory. The impressive
grandeur of la Cadera can be observed from the observation platform of La
Cumbrecita.
The prevailing north-easterly trade winds bring moisture down to the Canaries
and the high altitude of the island means that most of this is deposited to the
north-east. The southern part of the island is relatively dry and sunny, this
gives rise to dramatic differences in vegetation from the lush forests at Los
Tilos and Marcos y Corderos in the north, to the vine-clad slopes of
Fuencaliente in the south.
La Palma is occasionally affected by winds from the Sahara desert bringing
clouds of very fine dust. The months most affected are July and August.
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