Arrecife

Arrecife (/ˌærəˈsiːfeɪ/; Spanish pronunciation: [areˈθife]; locally [areˈsife]) is the capital city and a municipality of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. It was made the island's capital in 1852. The city owes its name to the rock reef ("arrecife" being Spanish for "reef") which covers its local beach. It also gives its name to the nearby Arrecife Airport. The population of the municipality was 64,645 in 2020.[3] Its area is 22.72 square kilometres (8.77 sq mi).[1]

Arrecife
City
Aerial view of Arrecife
Aerial view of Arrecife
Flag of Arrecife
Flag
Coat of arms of Arrecife
Coat of arms
Location of Arrecife
Coordinates: 28°57′45″N 13°33′2″W
CountrySpain
Autonomous Community Canary Islands
ProvinceLas Palmas
IslandLanzarote
Government
 • MayorÁstrid Pérez Batista (PP)
Area
[1]
 • Total22.72 km2 (8.77 sq mi)
Elevation
(AMSL)
20 m (70 ft)
Population
 (2018)[2]
 • Total61,351
 • Density2,700/km2 (7,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+00:00 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Postal code
35500
Area code+34 (Spain) + 928 (Las Palmas)
Websitewww.arrecife.es

Arrecife is located south of Teguise and east of San Bartolomé, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to its southeast. It is a port town, served by ferries to the other Canary Islands, Europe, and Africa. The LZ1 road connects Arrecife to the northeast of the island, the LZ2 road connects it to the southwest, and the LZ3 road serves as the city's beltway.[4] The tallest building in Lanzarote is the Arrecife Gran Hotel, which is located on the seafront alongside the harbour.

History

The earliest records of Arrecife date from the fifteenth century when it was a small fishing settlement. The name, given then as Arrecifes, refers to the black volcanic reefs behind which boats could hide, protected from sudden pirate attacks.

Towards the end of the sixteenth century the settlement began to grow in response to a need for accommodation and warehousing to support growing trade between the old and new worlds. The first church was constructed at this time, consecrated to the first bishop of Arrecife, San Ginés. Growing prosperity increased the attractiveness of the town as a pirate target: in 1571 a pirate named Dogan plundered and almost completely destroyed the little port town.

In 1964 Arrecife became the site of Lanzarote's first sea-water desalination plant.[5]

Climate

Lanzarote has a marine desert climate according to the Köppen climatic classification.[6] The little precipitation is concentrated in the winter months.

Climate data for Lanzarote Airport (1981-2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.9
(82.2)		 29.0
(84.2)		 32.7
(90.9)		 36.3
(97.3)		 42.6
(108.7)		 40.7
(105.3)		 42.9
(109.2)		 43.6
(110.5)		 40.5
(104.9)		 37.1
(98.8)		 34.2
(93.6)		 27.5
(81.5)		 43.6
(110.5)
Average high °C (°F) 20.7
(69.3)		 21.3
(70.3)		 22.9
(73.2)		 23.5
(74.3)		 24.6
(76.3)		 26.3
(79.3)		 28.2
(82.8)		 29.1
(84.4)		 28.6
(83.5)		 26.7
(80.1)		 24.2
(75.6)		 21.8
(71.2)		 24.8
(76.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 17.4
(63.3)		 17.9
(64.2)		 19.0
(66.2)		 19.6
(67.3)		 20.8
(69.4)		 22.6
(72.7)		 24.3
(75.7)		 25.2
(77.4)		 24.7
(76.5)		 23.0
(73.4)		 20.7
(69.3)		 18.6
(65.5)		 21.1
(70.0)
Average low °C (°F) 14.0
(57.2)		 14.3
(57.7)		 15.0
(59.0)		 15.7
(60.3)		 16.8
(62.2)		 18.8
(65.8)		 20.4
(68.7)		 21.2
(70.2)		 20.8
(69.4)		 19.4
(66.9)		 17.2
(63.0)		 15.4
(59.7)		 17.4
(63.3)
Record low °C (°F) 8.0
(46.4)		 9.0
(48.2)		 8.3
(46.9)		 9.5
(49.1)		 11.5
(52.7)		 12.4
(54.3)		 15.4
(59.7)		 16.6
(61.9)		 15.5
(59.9)		 12.0
(53.6)		 10.9
(51.6)		 9.0
(48.2)		 8.0
(46.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 16.5
(0.65)		 18.2
(0.72)		 12.5
(0.49)		 5.2
(0.20)		 1.5
(0.06)		 0.1
(0.00)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.5
(0.02)		 2.2
(0.09)		 9.9
(0.39)		 14.7
(0.58)		 29.3
(1.15)		 110.6
(4.35)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 4 18
Mean monthly sunshine hours 203 201 241 255 297 292 308 295 248 235 207 196 2,978
Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología[7]

Historical population
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1996 38,091—    
2000 43,711+3.50%
2005 53,920+4.29%
2010 58,156+1.52%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2015 56,940−0.42%
2018 61,351+2.52%
202064,645+2.65%
Source: Centro de Datos, Cabildo de Lanzarote[8]

Economy

The Port of Arrecife is the main port facility for Lanzarote and the second busiest in the Canary Islands in terms of passengers.[9] It handles passenger ferries, cruise ships, and ro-ro cargo, but also bulk, breakbulk, containers, and liquid bulk, and has a large fishing port.[10]

Communities
  • Urbanización Playa Honda (subdivision), south

Assets of Cultural Interest

The real estate properties of Arrecife registered in the Register of Assets of Cultural Interest are:

Sites of interest
  • Playa Reducto, Arrecife's town beach
  • Castillo de San José, 18th-century fortress that now houses a collection of modern art
  • Puente de Las Bolas, bridge leading to the Castillo de San Gabriel
  • Charco de San Ginés, man-made lagoon used by fishermen
  • Church
    Church
  • The Gran Hotel Arrecife
    The Gran Hotel Arrecife
  • Castle of San Gabriel
    Castle of San Gabriel

See also

References
  1. Instituto Canario de Estadística, area
  2. Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  3. "Arrecife - Población: inmigrantes, emigrantes y otros datos sobre los habitantes de cada municipio". www.epdata.es. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  4. "Carreteras insulares de Lanzarote (2007)". www.datosdelanzarote.com. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  5. González-Morales, Alejandro; Ramón-Ojeda, Antonio Ángel (2019-06-14). "La desalación de agua de mar en las Canarias Orientales: los casos de Lanzarote y Fuerteventura". Agua y Territorio / Water and Landscape (in Spanish) (13): 15–26. doi:10.17561/at.13.3722. ISSN 2340-7743.
  6. "Arrecife, Spain Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)".
  7. "Guía resumida del clima en España (1981-2010)". Archived from the original on 2012-11-18.
  8. "Población de derecho de Lanzarote según municipio. Evolución (1996-2019)" [Legal population of Lanzarote by municipality. Evolution (1996-2019)] (in Spanish). Centro de Datos, Cabildo de Lanzarote. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  9. "Port of Arrecife". Puertos de Las Palmas. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  10. "Port of Arrecife, Spain". www.findaport.com. Shipping Guides Limited. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
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