Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife (full name: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santiago, commonly known as Santa Cruz) is a municipality and a city belonging to the Spanish province of the same name, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is the capital of the island of Tenerife (the most populated Spanish island).

It is the share capital of the Canary Islands with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and it has a seat of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, is also home to the High Court of Auditors of the Canary Islands. The city has the largest metropolitan area in the Canary Islands at 366.85 miles in area.   The municipality is located on the northeast of the island, along the Atlantic Ocean.

The municipality covers an area of 150.56 km² and has a population of 221,956 inhabitants, the second largest of the Canary Islands (INE in January 2008). The altitude in the historic center is 4 meters above sea level.  It has 58 kilometers of coastline divided by the Barranco de Santos.

The climate is arid with little rain (a little over 200mm) and has annual temperatures of on average 21°C.

There are many services some strong, small and medium enterprises, and also has chemical industries, among which is the oldest oil refinery in Spain, in operation since 1930. The refinery in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the largest industry in the Canary Islands. It is a subject of controversy for its excessive length.  There remains room for growth in the city surrounding the refinery, in the towns of La Laguna and Anaga Massif. The new expansion area of the city, Cape Town in Plains, was once part of the refinery.

Military

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is based outside the military base containing a Hoya Cold Light Infantry Regiment (Tenerife 49), the number 22 Transmisiones Regiment, Battalion Headquarters of the Military Zone of the Canary Islands and the Canary Subinspeccion military.

In the south, on land that gave the Defense Ministry of the Interior, is the Retention Center for illegal immigrants. This land at present and after years of litigation, must be returned by the State to the family that originally owned them, but thanks to the agreements remain in the hands of Defense under lease for at least 5 more years.

Chicharrero in the center, opposite the Plaza Weyler, is the Palace of the Captaincy General of the Canary Islands. The office has existed since the XVI and Santa Cruz de Tenerife has always been the seat of the Headquarters.  The capital for a time was in La Laguna.

Between Toscal Quarter and the Rambla General Franco, the Military Museum is located beside the Regional Almeyda (Almeyda Fuerte). Their funds make it one of the most important research centers in the Canary Islands with respect to historical cartography. A sample which contains a wide variety of weapons is the cannon Tigre, the protagonist of Nelson’s attack against Santa Cruz. The viewer also can see a part of all the weapons used in fighting for the conquest of Tenerife