Arrecife

Arrecife
City

Aerial view of Arrecife

Flag
Coat of arms

Location in Lanzarote
Coordinates: 28°57′45″N 13°33′2″W / 28.96250°N 13.55056°W / 28.96250; -13.55056Coordinates: 28°57′45″N 13°33′2″W / 28.96250°N 13.55056°W / 28.96250; -13.55056
Country Spain
Autonomous Community Canary Islands
Province Las Palmas
Island Lanzarote
Government
 • Mayor Manuel Fajardo Feo (CC)
Area[1]
 • Total 22.72 km2 (8.77 sq mi)
Elevation(AMSL) 20 m (70 ft)
Population (2013)[2]
 • Total 55,673
 • Density 2,500/km2 (6,300/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (GMT +1) (UTC+1)
Postal code 35500
Area code(s) +34 (Spain) + 928 (Las Palmas)
Website www.arrecife.es

Arrecife (/ˌærəˈsiːfeɪ/; Spanish pronunciation: [areˈsife]) is a city and municipality in the Canary Islands (Spain) situated in the centre-east of the island of Lanzarote, of which it has been the capital since 1852. The city owes its name to the rock reef ('Arrecife' is Spanish for 'reef') which covers the beach located in the city. The city also gives its name to the nearby Arrecife Airport.

The population of the municipality is 55,673 (2013),[2] its area is 22.72 km².[1] It is south of Haría, east of Tinajo and northeast of Yaiza. Arrecife is a port town on the east coast, served by ferries to the other islands and also Europe and mainland Africa. The LZ1 road connects Arrecife with to the north, the LZ2 road with the southwest, and the LZ3 road serves as the beltway of the city. The tallest building in Lanzarote is the Gran Hotel Arrecife, which is located on the front alongside the harbour.

History

The earliest records of Arrecife date from the fifteenth century when it was a small fishing settlement. The name, given then as Arrecifes, refers to the black volcanic reefs behind which boats could hide, protected from sudden pirate attacks.

Towards the end of the sixteenth century the settlement began to grow in response to a need for accommodation and warehousing to support growing trade between the old and new worlds. The first church was constructed at this time, consecrated to the first bishop of Arrecife, San Ginés. Growing prosperity increased the attractiveness of the town as a pirate target: in 1571 a notorious pirate named Dogan plundered and almost completely destroyed the little port town.

In 1964 Arrecife became the site of Lanzarote's first sea-water desalination plant, which was still operational in 2010.

Climate

Lanzarote has a desert climate according to the Köppen climatic classification.[3] The little precipitation is concentrated in the winter months.

Climate data for Lanzarote Airport (1981-2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.9
(82.2)		 29.0
(84.2)		 32.7
(90.9)		 36.3
(97.3)		 42.6
(108.7)		 40.7
(105.3)		 42.9
(109.2)		 43.6
(110.5)		 40.5
(104.9)		 37.1
(98.8)		 34.2
(93.6)		 27.5
(81.5)		 43.6
(110.5)
Average high °C (°F) 20.7
(69.3)		 21.3
(70.3)		 22.9
(73.2)		 23.5
(74.3)		 24.6
(76.3)		 26.3
(79.3)		 28.2
(82.8)		 29.1
(84.4)		 28.6
(83.5)		 26.7
(80.1)		 24.2
(75.6)		 21.8
(71.2)		 24.8
(76.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 17.4
(63.3)		 17.9
(64.2)		 19.0
(66.2)		 19.6
(67.3)		 20.8
(69.4)		 22.6
(72.7)		 24.3
(75.7)		 25.2
(77.4)		 24.7
(76.5)		 23.0
(73.4)		 20.7
(69.3)		 18.6
(65.5)		 21.1
(70)
Average low °C (°F) 14.0
(57.2)		 14.3
(57.7)		 15.0
(59)		 15.7
(60.3)		 16.8
(62.2)		 18.8
(65.8)		 20.4
(68.7)		 21.2
(70.2)		 20.8
(69.4)		 19.4
(66.9)		 17.2
(63)		 15.4
(59.7)		 17.4
(63.3)
Record low °C (°F) 8.0
(46.4)		 9.0
(48.2)		 8.3
(46.9)		 9.5
(49.1)		 11.5
(52.7)		 12.4
(54.3)		 15.4
(59.7)		 16.6
(61.9)		 15.5
(59.9)		 12.0
(53.6)		 10.9
(51.6)		 9.0
(48.2)		 8.0
(46.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 16.5
(0.65)		 18.2
(0.717)		 12.5
(0.492)		 5.2
(0.205)		 1.5
(0.059)		 0.1
(0.004)		 0.0
(0)		 0.5
(0.02)		 2.2
(0.087)		 9.9
(0.39)		 14.7
(0.579)		 29.3
(1.154)		 110.6
(4.357)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 4 18
Mean monthly sunshine hours 203 201 241 255 297 292 308 295 248 235 207 196 2,978
Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología[4]

Historical population

Year Population
2001 45,549
2002 48,253
2003 50,785
2013 55,673

Communities

Sites of interest

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Instituto Canario de Estadística, area
  2. 1 2 Instituto Canario de Estadística Archived April 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine., population
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "Guía resumida del clima en España (1981-2010)".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arrecife.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Arrecife.
 Teguise
San Bartolomé
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Atlantic Ocean
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.