The arms of the cross are approximately one fifth the width of the flag and the field is navy blue (azul marino).

Traditionally, navy blue has been identified with the sea and the white to the snow-covered peaks of Mount Teide in winter.

Juba II and Ancient Romans referred to Tenerife as Nivaria, derived from the Latin words nix, nivis or nives, meaning snow, in clear reference to the snow-covered peak of the Teide volcano.

One is that the flag was adopted as a mark of respect to the bravery of the Scottish sailors in the Battle of Santa Cruz.

An alternative theory is the most influential masters of the island of Tenerife chose a design similar to the Scottish flag belonging to the Masonic Grand Lodge of Scotland and proposed a similar flag for the maritime province of the Canary Islands, which later became the flag of Tenerife.