[7][8][9][10][11] Las Palmas is located in the northeastern part of the island of Gran Canaria, about 150 km (93 mi) west of the Moroccan coast[12] in the Atlantic Ocean.

Las Palmas experiences a hot desert climate,[note 1] offset by the local cooler Canary Current, with warm temperatures throughout the year.

[13] The city was founded in 1478, and considered the de facto (without legal and real recognition)[14] capital of the Canary Islands until the seventeenth century.

[16][17] The war began at the mouth of the Guiniguada ravine, where he settled together with his 30 soldiers El Real de Las Palmas, which today is the district of Vegueta.

[17] The struggle lasted for a period of five years, costing a great number of lives, especially on the aboriginal side, which lacked sufficient means to defend itself against the armies sent by the Catholic monarchs.

[19] In 1492, Christopher Columbus (Spanish: Cristóbal Colón) anchored in the port of Las Palmas for a repair of the rudder of his ship Pinta[20] and spent some time on the neighbour island on his first trip to the Americas.

[22] A Dutch raid under vice-admiral Pieter van der Does in 1599 was only slightly more successful; some of the town was destroyed, but the raiders were repelled.

Las Palmas is a sister city of San Antonio, Texas, in the United States, which was founded in 1718 by about 25 Canary Islanders.

[40] As of 2008, nearly half (45.9%) of Gran Canaria's inhabitants live in Las Palmas, as well as 18.35% of the Canary Islands' total population.

According to a study by the National Statistics Institute of Spain Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has a life expectancy of 80.9 years.

International schools include: The Escuela Complementaria Japonesa de Las Palmas previously provided a weekend supplementary Japanese programme.

[58] Las Palmas offers a variety of theater, cinema, opera, concerts, visual arts and dance performances.

The city center of Las Palmas, specifically the Vegueta and Triana neighbourhoods, are included in the tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Urban road infrastructure is overburdened on workdays and in certain areas; the city street plan is not at all rectilinear, and may be confusing even to experienced drivers.

It is approximately 75 km (47 mi) in length and runs along the eastern and the southern coasts, and is also the second longest superhighway in the Canary Islands.

The road provides easy access from the Airport to the major cities and resorts, which include Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés.

The airport is located in the eastern part of the island, about 18 km (11 mi) from Las Palmas city centre.

[71] This airport is also a base for Binter Canarias and Canaryfly, airlines which operate regional inter-island flights within the Canary Islands.

Muelle Deportivo is the main yachting marina on the island opposite the commercial port with a capacity of 1250 boats.

Close to the centre of the city it is popular with yachtsmen largely as a base for preparing their trans Atlantic passage.

It is the start point for the ARC and ARC+ (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) in which up to 300 yachts of different sizes leave in November for the Caribbean.Las Palmas boasts a bus system, provided by the company Guaguas Municipales.

This is now replaced by a reusable plastic card issued by the company which may be re-charged in multiples of 10 at bus stations and at machines situated at various sites such as public libraries.

If built, the Tren de Gran Canaria (TGC) line would run along the eastern coast and connect Las Palmas with the airport and Maspalomas in the south.

[76] In 2004 the Spanish Ministry of Development put a contract out to competitive tender for a feasibility study on a 50 km railway line from Las Palmas to Maspalomas.

These are: Las Palmas was one of the arenas of 2014 FIBA World Championship for Group D, consisting Lithuania, Angola, Korea, Slovenia, Mexico and Australia.