LA PALMA

in full San Miguel De La Palma island, Santa Cruz de Tenerife provincia in the comunidad autnoma (autonomous community) of Canary Islands, Spain. Located in the North Atlantic off the northwestern coast of Africa, it has an area of 281 square miles (728 square km). Its central geographic feature is La Caldera de Taburiente, a national park and a large volcanic caldera (6 miles in diameter). The rim is breached on the west by a canyon but elsewhere forms a mountain ridge up to 7,950 feet (2,423 m) in elevation. Its well-watered slopes are densely wooded and deeply dissected by ravines. The more recent lava streams, including those formed in 1949, are naked. Santa Cruz de la Palma, the capital and port of the island, handles most of the exports of bananas, tomatoes, tobacco, and embroidery. The island has some motor roads and an airstrip. Pop. (1981) 72,665.