San Sebastián de La Gomera
Encyclopedia
| San Sebastián de la Gomera | |
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| Autonomous region: | Canary Islands Canary Islands The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union... |
| Province: | Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province) Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife also Province of Santa Cruz is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic archipelago, including the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma, and... |
| Island: | La Gomera La Gomera La Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.- Political organization :... |
| Area Area Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat... : |
114.47 km² (113.59 km² in 2003) |
| Population Population A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals... : |
7,984 (2001) |
| Population density Population density Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans... : |
69.75/km² |
| Elevation Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface .... : Lowest: Centre: Highest: |
Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area... 5 m western part |
| Postal code: | E-38880 |
| Location Geographic coordinate system A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on the Earth to be specified by a set of numbers. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represent vertical position, and two or three of the numbers represent horizontal position... : |
28.1/28°6' N lat. 17.1/17°6' W long. |
| Car designation: | TF |
San Sebastián de la Gomera is a town (the main port and capital) and also an administrative district on La Gomera
La Gomera
La Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.- Political organization :...
in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. Its population is 2,176 (ISTAC, 2004), its density is 47.6/km² and the area is 114.78 km².
Part of the area is made up of farmlands, while the mountainous areas are forested or grassy. Its main industries are agriculture, tourism and administrative. Houses run up within the small stream up to the hills and the mountains surround the capital. The port is in the east and within the port is its beach. The port serves ferry routes to the islands of Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, La Palma
La Palma
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...
and El Hierro
El Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is the smallest and farthest south and west of the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 10,162 .- Name :The name El Hierro, although phonetically identical to the Spanish word for 'iron', is generally thought...
. Streets include Calle Real and F. Olsen, which link the port. The residential and business areas runs from southeast to northwest. A bus station named Estación de Guaguas is used for bus lines throughout the island; it is located on Avenida Quinta Centenario. Much of the hills are grassy and almost entirely deforested, farms are in the valley and up to fields northeast and more mountains to the northeast.
Historical population
| Year | Population | Change | Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 5,606 | - | - |
| 1996 | 6,199 | - | - |
| 2001 | 6,618 | - | 50.95/km² |
| 2002 | 7,138 | - | - |
| 2003 | 6,902 | - | 54.63/km² |
| 2004 | 7,984 | - | 55.62/km² |
The population increased until 2002 when it suffered a decrease in 2003, the population became the fastest in the island as it boomed about 13.5% population.
History
The area before the founding of the municipality were inhabited by the GuanchesGuanches
Guanches is the name given to the aboriginal Berber inhabitants of the Canary Islands. It is believed that they migrated to the archipelago sometime between 1000 BCE and 100 BCE or perhaps earlier...
. Hernán Peraza arrived in 1440. Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
stopped at the harbour on September 6, 1492 before heading to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
but headed for America instead.
Sites of interest
- Torre del Conde - a tower in the middle of the valley
- Casa del Colón, a museum dedicated to Christopher Columbus
- Casa de los Peraza
- Pozo de La Aguada
- Iglesia de La Asunción and Ermita de San Sebastián Churches
- Barranco del Cabrito
- Los Roques rocks
- Puntallana
- Majona Nature Park
Tourism
The port serves as a hub for tourists being ferries from the nearby island of TenerifeTenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
.
Main firms include Fred. Olsen Express
Fred. Olsen Express
Fred. Olsen Express is an inter island ferry service based in the Canary Islands, Spain. The company operates a fleet of six modern fast ferries, including the world's first trimaran fast ferry, the Benchijigua Express, which entered service in 2005. Fred Olsen Express operates five routes...
and Naviera Armas
Naviera Armas
Naviera Armas Ferries is a company in Spain, founded in the 1940s, which operates at least 10 ferries.The company operates mainly in the Canaries, although services are available to the island of Madeira and Portugal, further north.-The Current Fleet:...
.
Economy
The economy of San Sebastián de La Gomera is centered on the functions of the capital and its port, as well as in the public sector, particularly in the transportation, trading, and tourism of Tenerife. The primary industry until the 1990s was agriculture.Other
San Sebastián de la Gomera has schools, a few lyceums, a gymnasium, churches, a small beach, a post office and a few squares plazaPlaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
s, one of them named Plaza de las Americas.
Pictures
The relatively quiet island is only a short 35 minute hop from nearby Tenerife which is almost always visible from La Gomera.External links
- Map and aerial photos
- Street map: Street map from Mapquest, MapPoint or Google
- Satellite images: Google
- Coordinates: 28°6′0"N 17°6′0"W
See also
- La GomeraLa GomeraLa Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.- Political organization :...
- List of municipalities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife