Breña Alta
Breña Alta (Spanish for Upper Breña) is a municipality on the eastern side of the island of La Palma, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. The ayuntamiento (municipal office) is in the town of San Pedro, at 350 m above sea-level, and only 9 km south of the island's capital Santa Cruz de la Palma . Breña Alta lies on the main highway encircling the island, just north of La Palma Airport. Until the 17th century the area was known as Breña, but was then divided into Breña Alta and Breña Baja.
Breña Alta offers a panoramic view of La Gomera to the southeast. The coastline and the valley areas are made up of farmland, while the mountainous areas are forested, or grassy in the west where much of the area has been deforested. The main industry is agriculture. Breña Alta has a fishing port, an artificial beach at Bajamar, and an industrial area. The municipality is known for its tobacco production.
Subdivisions
The municipality has 13 subdivisions, or "parishes" (population figures from 2005):
- Bajamar
- Botazo (pop: 389)
- Breña (pop: 509)
- Buenavista de Abajo (pop: 484)
- Buenavista de Arriba (pop: 605)
- La Cuesta (pop: 684)
- Las Letas (pop: 464)
- El Llanito (pop: 758)
- Miranda (pop: 711)
- San Isidro
- San Pedro (municipal seat) (pop: 2,434)
- El Socorro
- Las Vueltas
Historical population
| Year |
Population |
Change |
Density |
| 1900 |
2,589 |
- |
- |
| 1910 |
2,863 |
+274 |
- |
| 1920 |
3,078 |
+215 |
- |
| 1930 |
3,437 |
+359 |
- |
| 1940 |
3,843 |
+406 |
- |
| 1950 |
4,049 |
+206 |
- |
| 1960 |
4,762 |
+713 |
- |
| 1970 |
4,290 |
-472 |
- |
| 1981 |
4,792 |
+502 |
- |
| 1990 |
5,467 |
+675 |
- |
| 1991 |
5,432 |
-35 |
- |
| 1996 |
5,816 |
+384 |
188.71/km² |
| 2001 |
5,715 |
-101 |
184.35/km² |
| 2002 |
6,396 |
+681 |
207.53/km² |
| 2003 |
6,665 |
+269 |
216.26/km² |
| 2004 |
6,847 |
+182 |
222.17/km² |
| 2005 |
7,039 |
+192 |
228.39/km² |
| 2006 |
7,158 |
+119 |
232.25/km² |
| 2007 |
7,184 |
+26 |
233.09/km² |
Over the years, the population has steadily increased, except for a 10% drop between 1960 and 1970.
The 1991 and 2001 figures, taken from the census, are lower than the surrounding figures, taken from municipal records.[3]
Other
Breña Alta has schools, a few lyceums, a gymnasium, churches, a small beach, a small port, a post office and a few squares plazas. There is a 100 year old dracaena tree near San Isidro.
References
External links
- Official Web Site
- Map and aerial photos
See also