Santa Úrsula

Santa Úrsula covers 22.59 km2 (8.7 sq miles) and is located in northern Tenerife. The story behind the origin of the municipality's name says that the mayor Alejo Pérez gave over some of his land to build a church in honour of Santa Úrsula, as his daughter was named Ursula. The municipality ranges all the way from the coast up to its highest point: Morra de Itote, 1,794 m (5885 ft) above sea level. Although the slopes on the rugged coastline are quite gentle, it gets steeper on the way up the hills to the peak. Santa Úrsula only has two small bays in the areas known as Santa Ana and Charco del Negro. Some of the municipality's protected areas are the Special Nature Reserve of Las Palomas and the Protected Landscapes of Las Lagunetas and Costa de Acentejo. The sea breeze and the blanket of cloud that forms around the mountainside bring the average annual temperature in Santa Úrsula down slightly to 19 ºC (66 ºF).

Historically, the municipal economy was based on traditional farming, but has now switched to the service sector. Nevertheless, farming is still important here and covers large expanses of land on the hillsides.