Las Palmas

Las Palmas is the capital city of Gran Canaria[?] one of the Canary Islands, of volcanic origin, in the Atlantic Ocean, 210 kilometers located off the northwestern coast of Africa. Las Palmas belongs to Spain.

Gran Canaria's surface is 1560 km² and its maximum altitude is 1949 meters (Pozo de las nieves).

The city was founded in 1478 by Juan Rejón, after fighting the local Guanches. 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.

The population of the city of Las Palmas in the year 2001 was 365,000 habitants (Gran Canaria island had 755500 habitants in the 2001 census). This makes Las Palmas the biggest city in the Canary Islands.

Las Palmas is today a very cosmopolitan city. There are popular beaches nearby (Las Canteras) and a busy harbor (Puerto de la Luz harbor).