The Island of La Palma
At the northwest of the Canaries archipelago , a few hundred miles from the coast of north-west Africa, lies the island of La Palma, also known as La Isla Bonita, because of its extraordinary natural beauty.
![La Palma](http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/lapalma/plesp_s.jpg)
La Palma is one of the smaller of the Canary islands, with a surface area of 706 square kilometres and a population of only 80,000. It is unusual in that it rises exceptionally steeply from the ocean, the entire central mountain range exceeding 2000 m in altitude. The highest point on the island is the Roque de los Muchachos (2426 m), the location of the astronomical observatory .
Look here for a map of La Palma