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La Orotava

La Orotava
Municipality
La Orotava
La Orotava
Flag of La Orotava
Flag
Official seal of La Orotava
Seal
Municipal location in Tenerife
Municipal location in Tenerife
Coordinates: 28°23′26″N 16°31′29″W / 28.39056°N 16.52472°W / 28.39056; -16.52472Coordinates: 28°23′26″N 16°31′29″W / 28.39056°N 16.52472°W / 28.39056; -16.52472
Country Spain
Autonomous community  Canary Islands
Province Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Island Tenerife
Government
 • Mayor [Francisco Linares]]
(CC)
Area
 • Total 207.31 km2 (80.04 sq mi)
Population (2013)
 • Total 41,255
 • Density 201.18/km2 (521.1/sq mi)
Time zone GMT (UTC+0)
Post Code 38300
Climate Csb
Website www.villadelaorotava.org

La Orotava is a town and a municipality in the northern part of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands of Spain. The area of the municipality stretches from the north coast to the mountainous interior, and includes the summit of the Teide volcano, Canary Islands' and Spain's highest point at 3,718 m. At 207.31 km2, it is the largest municipality of the island of Tenerife. The population is 41,255 (2013).

The town La Orotava, which is the administrative centre of the municipality and also its largest settlement, is situated near the north coast, at about 400 m elevation in the Orotava Valley. It is 4 km southeast of Puerto de la Cruz and 28 km southwest of the island's capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The TF-5 motorway passes through the north of the municipality.

The coat of arms of La Orotava was adopted by Alfonso XIII in 1906, the dragoons escorting the drago and the tree of golden apples refers to the mythology of the Garden of Hesperides, believed was located in La Orotava. In gastronomy, La Orotava was honored for the Denominación de Origen Valle de La Orotava or the Denomination of the Origin of the Orotava Valley (Valle de La Orotava) in wines.

The historic center of La Orotava was declared Conjunto histórico in 1976 and is included in the Inventory of the European Cultural Heritage Protection and Monumental. Also noteworthy is that much of the Teide National Park (a World Heritage Site in 2007) is located within the municipality. La Orotava is also the highest town of Spain and steepest, the municipality comes from sea level up to 3718 meters the Teide (the highest peak in Spain).

It is not known with clarity which is the origin the name of the population, but the vast majority of researchers say it could be due to the situation of the town in the time of the Guanches, who called the area Arautaba or Arautápala. From the point strictly linguistic, Orotava voice belongs to a very advanced stage of deformation of the primary language Amazig, to the castilian.


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