Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

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Coat of arms	Map

Image:Esc laspalmas.jpg	Image:GC LasPalmasdeGC.png
Statistics
Autonomous Region:	Canary Islands
Province:	Las Palmas
Island:	Gran Canaria
Area:	100.55 km² some reads 99.77 km²
Population:	376,953 (ISTAC, 2003)
Population density:	3,778.22/km²
Elevation:	Atlantic Ocean 8 m southern part
Postal code:	35000
Location:	28.1/28°6' N lat. 15.41667/15°25' W long.
ISTAC code:	E-35016
Car designation:	`GC`

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a Spanish city, the capital city of Gran Canaria which is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, 210 kilometers located off the northwestern coast of Africa. It is also the capital of the province of Las Palmas and co-capital of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands.

The population of the city of Las Palmas was 377,600 as of the 2003 census, making it the largest city in the Canary Islands. The population of the whole urban area was estimated in 2003 to be 609,628, ranking as the 10th-largest urban area of Spain. (Gran Canaria island had 789,908 inhabitants in 2003).

Demographic evolution of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria between 1991 and 2004
1991	1996	2001	2004
354,877	355,563	354,863	376,953

The city was founded in the 24th of June, 1478 by Juan Rejón and the Castillian troops, after fighting the local Guanches (aboriginal people of the Canary Islands). In 1492, Christopher Columbus stopped in the city prior to his first trip to the Americas. He also stopped on the way back to Spain. Today, a museum is named after him - Casa Colon in the Vegueta area of the city.

Las Palmas is today a very cosmopolitan city. There are popular beaches nearby (Las Canteras and Las Alcaravaneras) and a busy harbor (Puerto de la Luz harbor) - one of the busiest ports in the world during the 70s~early 90s. As a result, many people from all over the world live and work in Las Palmas. Merchants and traders from Africa, China, Russia and the Middle East mingle with each other in the streets of the harbor. The Korean and Indian communities are the largest foreign communities on the island, although the majority have been acquiring Spanish citizenships over the years.

Image:Las palmas canteras.jpg

Image:Catedral de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.jpg

According to a study carried out by Thomas Whitmore, director of research on climatology at the Syracuse University (USA), the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria enjoys the best climate in the world.

The main City Festival (Fiestas de San Juan) is in June, celebrating the foundation of the City.

The Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria[1] is one of the most typical and famous parties of the city, and is not only well known in Spain, but also has worldwide fame.

There is also a good Theater and Dance Festival and an International Film Festival.You can find also the very beautiful Alfredo Kraus Auditoriumnamed after the unforgettable tenor from Gran Canaria. It is just next to Las Canteras Beach the best urban beach on the World.

1 Historical population
2 Sites of interest
3 Transportation
4 Notable Natives and Residents
5 External links

[edit] Historical population

Year	Population	Density
1991	354,887	-
1996	355,563	-
2001	354,863	3,513.49km²
2002	370,649	-
2003	377,760	3,755.35/km²
2004	376,953	3,778.2/km²

[edit] Sites of interest

[edit] Transportation

The city is linked with three superhighways including the GC1 to the south, the GC2 to the west and GC3 to the center of the island. The nearest airport is the Gran Canaria International Airport or the Las Palmas - Gando International Airport located 18 km from the capital.

[edit] Notable Natives and Residents

Antonia San Juan
Javier Bardem, a Spanish actor
José Viera y Clavijo
Benito Pérez Galdós, writer
Sven Giegold, a German politician
Mateo Gil
Alfredo Kraus, was a Spanish tenor
Juan José Armas Marcelo, a Spanish writer
Marta Marrero, tennis player
Juan Negrín, politician
Nicolas Estevanez, military officer, politician and poet
Magui Serna, tennis player
Juan Carlos Valerón, football (soccer) player
Manuel Pablo García Díaz, football (soccer) player
Juan Fernando López Aguilar (Spanish Minister of Justice)

[edit] External links

Info, maps, forum and webcams from Las Palmas and Gran Canaria
City Council
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival
Canary Islands Exhibition Centre
Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The Gran Canaria Weather Forecast
Map and aerial photos
Street map from Mapquest, MapPoint, Google or Yahoo! Maps
Google or Microsoft Virtual Earth - image now available
Coordinates: 28°6′0″N, 15°25′0″W

	North: Atlantic Ocean
West: Arucas	Las Palmas de Gran Canaria	East: Atlantic Ocean
	South: Santa Brígida and Telde

Island capitals of the Canary Islands	Image:Flag of the Canary Islands.svg
Arrecife \| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria \| Puerto del Rosario \| San Sebastián de La Gomera \| Santa Cruz de Tenerife \| Santa Cruz de La Palma \| Valverde

Municipalities of Gran Canaria island	Image:Flag of Gran Canaria.svg
Agaete \| Agüimes \| Artenara \| Arucas \| Firgas \| Gáldar \| Ingenio \| Mogán \| Moya \| Las Palmas \| San Bartolomé de Tirajana \| San Nicolás de Tolentino \| Sta. Brígida \| Sta. Lucía de Tirajana \| Sta. María de Guía \| Tejeda \| Telde \| Valleseco \| Valsequillo \| Vega de San Mateo