Santa Cruz de Tenerife (2003 population 220,022) is a Spanish city on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands.

It is the capital of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and a co-capital of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. The municipality is the northernmost and the easternmost in the island and only the easternmost in the province.

The city is a seaport and a tropical resort, offering its impressive scenery and mild sub-tropical climate to visitors.

The port also exports products of the Canaries such as vegetables, tobacco, and bananas. The oil refinery, inaugurated in November 28th 1930, and other industries were constructed to attempt to diversify the economy.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is unusual in having a major oil refinery sited in the city centre. Ecologists groups - particularly ATAN - have drawn attention to the scope for a major disaster should there be a fire at the 70-year old plant. The fact that the city's two major evacuation routes (the North and South highways) both run past the refinery is further cause for concern. This particular case exemplifies the growing conflict between industrial land uses and tourism in Tenerife.

The city's airport was the site of the Tenerife disaster, the worst aircraft accident in history.

Economy
Services is the main economy along with chemical plants as well as the Canary Islands' only major refinery.

History
The area was known to the Guanches, the first inhabitants of the island, as Añazo. Later, it became one of the most important ports of the Atlantic and the Canary Islands, a position it retains to this day. The development of the city occurred in the 19th century under the mandate of Ferdinand VII, who moved the capital from La Laguna to Santa Cruz.

Naval history
Due to the strategic location of Tenerife on the route between the Mediterranean and the Americas, it was attacked a number of times by the English and the Dutch. In particular, Santa Cruz Bay was the scene of two notable naval engagements involving two of the most famous British admirals.

In 1656, Admiral Robert Blake totally destroyed a Spanish silver fleet of 16 ships for the loss of one of his own, despite being under fire from shore batteries and attacking and withdrawing on the tide. 50 years later, the British under John Genings were defeated when they attacked the island on November 6, 1706 during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Lord Nelson lost his right arm in a later failed attack in the same bay on July 25 1797.

Commercial areas
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is famous for its commercial stores, which includins zona Centro (Central part) - calles dal Castillo, San José, del Pilar, Viera y Clavijo and more), zona Rambla (Rambla area) 0 rambla de Pulido, calle Ramón y Cajal and more) and the commercian centres and great in Avenida de 3 Mayo and in the Añaza subdivision.

Nightlife
Santa Cruz is characterized for its nightlife, in contrasts to the nearby university of La Laguna. They are made up of discotheques and pubs. They are known in its maritime park named after César Manrique, Avenida 3 de mayo and Residencial Anaga.

Recently, construction happened in the area of Calle de la Noria, including traditional-style buildings of the city.

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*Information provided here with is taken, with thanks, from Wikipedia. For a copy of the license for this information, see the GNU Documentation license.