Day 6 -Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and has the biggest population at almost 1,000,000 residents. The highest point is Mount Teide whose peak is at an elevation of 12,188 feet, which also makes it the highest peak in all of Spain. Mount Teide is also the third largest volcano in the world and it last erupted in 1909 (although it caused no fatalities).

The economy of Tenerife is dominated by the tourist sector which accounts for 78% of its GDP. In an attempt to prevent further overdevelopment, the government has passed a moratoria act preventing the building of all but five star hotels, which must also incorporate other services such as golf and/or conference facilities. Agriculture only constitutes 10% of the islands GDP but important exports are bananas (150,000 tons a year), tomatoes, grapes and flowers.

Fun Facts

The movie ‘1 million years BC’ was filmed in Tenerife, as was ‘Clash of the Titans’ in 2010 and ‘Jason Bourne 5’.

All of Tenerife’s natural beaches are black and any that aren’t are man-made.

Horatio Nelson‘s only Maritime defeat was his attempt to invade Tenerife and the attempt cost him his arm!