Flora of the Canary Islands. Geography of the Canary Islands: La Palma. Flora and vegetation of the Canary Islands

La Palma

     The island of La Palma has an area of 708 km² and a registered population of 83,875. Its terrain is very rugged and reaches 2,426 m at Roque de los Muchachos, the island’s highest point, making it the second-highest island in the Canaries after Tenerife. In the northern third of La Palma lies a large depression formed by erosion, which makes up the Caldera de Taburiente, declared a national park in 1954.
     From the centre of the island towards the south, in the area known as Cumbre Vieja, there is a series of volcanoes, notably the San Antonio volcano, the San Juan volcano, the Teneguía volcano and the Tajogaite volcano, the site of Spain’s most recent terrestrial volcanic eruption.
     La Palma is also home to the Cumbre Vieja Natural Park, the Las Nieves Natural Park and a number of smaller protected areas with varying levels of protection.
     In 1983, the El Canal and Los Tilos area was designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. This area was expanded in 1997 to form the Los Tilos Biosphere Reserve. Finally, in 2002, the reserve was extended to cover the entire island under the name La Palma Biosphere Reserve.
     La Palma is one of the Canary Islands with the largest area of woodland, comprising both pine forests and laurel forests. As for agriculture, the main crops are Canary Island bananas and grapes.
     Owing to its geological formation and location, La Palma boasts a wide variety of landscapes, thanks to the diversity of its ecosystems, ranging from arid coastal areas to the very humid laurel forest, as well as pine forests and a high-mountain ecosystem. All this diversity has earned it the nicknames ‘La Isla Bonita’ (The Beautiful Island) and ‘La Isla Verde’ (The Green Island).