Güímar () is the name of a municipality, town and valley in the eastern part of the Spanish island of
Tenerife
Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
, one of the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, and part of
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province)
Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, also Province of Santa Cruz (), is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic archipelago: the islands o ...
. The municipality extends for 102.9 square kilometers from the mountainous interior to the beaches on the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
, and borders the municipalities of
La Orotava
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, ...
,
Arafo and
Fasnia. Its estimated population is 18,589 (2013). The
TF-1 motorway passes through the municipality.
The municipality is famous for its
pyramids
A pyramid () is a Nonbuilding structure, structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a Pyramid (geometry), pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid ca ...
. It is also the location of the
barranco de Badajoz. A portion of its volcanic landscape has been set aside as the
Nature reserve of Malpaís of Güímar, its highest point being Montaña Grande.
Name
The name comes from Guanche and is thought to mean 'angle, corner, nook'.
History
The first population centre of Güímar originated in the sixteenth century in the neighbourhood of San Juan - also called Güímar de Arriba - near the springs of the Agua and Chamoco ravines. The first buildings were linked to the sugar mill started up by the brothers Juan Felipe and Blasino Piombino or Romano.
Climate
Güímar is located in the eastern part of
Tenerife
Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
, with the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
on the east coast of the town. The
Canary Current
The Canary Current is a wind-driven surface current that is part of the North Atlantic Gyre. This eastern boundary current branches south from the North Atlantic Current and flows southwest about as far as Senegal where it turns west and later jo ...
passes through this sea area, resulting in Güímar having a
mild desert climate all year round. Güímar has a mild desert climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''BWh'';
Trewartha: ''BWal'') with an annual precipitation of only and no more than 29 days of precipitation. The average temperature throughout the year ranges from in February to in August. High temperature days above are usually uncommon, but due to the close proximity to the
Sahara Desert
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
, a hot wind called
Sharqi, making the place The temperature quickly exceeded and even reached temperatures above or even higher. The extreme temperatures throughout the year ranged from on 17 March 2015 to on 28 July 2017.
In September 2022, the entire
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, including
Tenerife
Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
, experienced the heaviest rainfall since AEMET meteorological observations began.
Güímar experienced three consecutive days of heavy rain, with the largest single-day rainfall in history of being measured on 25 September 2022. The total rainfall for the whole of September 2022 reached , making it the month with the most rainfall in Güímar since meteorological observations began.
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guimar
Municipalities in Tenerife
Populated places established in the 16th century