Agüimes, Las Palmas

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Municipality of Agüimes
Map
Statistics
Autonomous region:	Canary Islands
Province:	Las Palmas
Island:	Gran Canaria
Area:	79.28 km² some reads 79.15 km²
Population:	24,460 (2004)
Population density:	309.03/km²
Elevation: Lowest: Centre: Highest:	Atlantic Ocean 275 m western part (mountain)
Location:	27.8833/27°53' N lat. 15.422/15°26' W long.
Municipal code:	E-35002
Car designation:	GC until 2001

Agüimes is a Canarian municipality in the eastern portion of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. Agüimes is a suburb of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The population is 23,572 (ISTAC, 2003), its density is 297.33/km² and the area is 79.28 km². The elevation is 275 m. Agüimes is situated between the mountains and the plains. The mountains including several valleys to the west dominate the west, the plains along with a residential area that has more inhabitants than the downtown area and is the largest lies to the east along with the Atlantic Ocean. Agüimes is located S of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Teide and E of Puerto Rico and is accessed with the GC1 superhighway. The main industry are agriculture, businesses and tourism.

The major growth of the last few years has been the creation of a huge industrial estate on flat land once covered by tomato plantations. This has brought new jobs and industries into the area and has spured the development of a new purpose built port which is due to open in 2007.

The district was not at one time a major tourist destination, but after the careful restoration of the old town, this has become the best example of a traditional canarian hill town. The streets of the old town exude a gentle, relaxed, timeless atmosphere, and the carefully positioned street statues and sculptures add a series of surprises to a visit to the old town. The local plan for 'rural tourism' has led to the development of other small visitor centres around the district, the biggest of which is in the Guayadeque Ravine. This area has many cave houses dating back hundreds of years, and a complete village dug into the hillside, still occupied today which has its own cave church, cave bar and cave restaurants.

Sporting activities are also very important in the area, with it's windsurfing and scuba diving recognised as 'world class'. One round of the annual PWA windsurfing tour is held at the international windsurfing centre at Vargas every year, and the whole of the coast in this area can provide challenging conditions at any time of the year.

The main area for scuba diving in Gran Canaria is in the area known as the 'El Cabrón' marine reserve, next to the town of Arinaga. The diving in this area includes caves, arches, walls and volcanic reefs, where an extremely wide range of sub-tropical marine species can be found, ranging from tiny seahorses up to rays and angelsharks.

A diver watches a parrotfish and turkish wrasse while scuba diving in the el Cabrón marine reserve, Gran Canaria.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Historical population 3 Other 4 External links 5 See also

[edit] Geography

• Location:
  • Latitude: 27.8833 (27°53') N
  • Longitude: 15.433 (15°26') W
• Altitude:
  • Lowest: Atlantic Ocean
  • Centre: 275 m
  • Highest: southwestern part

[edit] Historical population

Year	Population	Density
1991	16,156	-
1996	18,284	-
2001	20,124	254.73/km²
2002	22,567	-
2003	23,572	297.33/km²
2004	24,460	309.03/km²

[edit] Other

Agüimes has schools, lyceums, a few gymnasia, churches, a post office and squares (plaza).

[edit] External links

• Map and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest. MapPoint or Google or Yahoo! Maps
  • Google or Microsoft Virtual Earth - image now available
• Coordinates: 27°54′0″N, 15°26′0″W
• Other useful links
  • Agüimes.esWebsite of the local council (Ayuntamiento de Agüimes)
  • PatinegroLocal environmental action group Patinegro
  • PWAAnnual international windurfing competitions
  • Scuba diving Gran CanariaLocal PADI Gold Palm dive centre

[edit] See also

• List of municipalities in Las Palmas

Northwest: Valsequillo	North: Ingenio
West: San Bartolomé de Tirajana	Agüimes	East: Atlantic Ocean
	South: Santa Lucía de Tirajana