TENERIFFE [Tenerife], the largest of the Canary islands; pop. (1900) 138,008; area, 782 sq.m. Of irregular shape, 6o m. long, 3o m. wide, it is the main portion of the Spanish province of Santa Cruz of Teneriffe (pop. 1930 304,137). The celebrated peak locally known as the Pico de Teyde (or Teide) with its sup ports and spurs, occupies nearly two-thirds of the whole island. It has a double top; the highest point, El Piton, is 12,000 ft. above the sea; the other, Chaliorra, connected with the first by a short narrow ridge, has a height of 9,88o ft. They are both orifices in the same grand dome of trachyte, where snow lingers four months.
For more than one-half of its circumference the base of the true peak rises from an elevated but comparatively level tract. On the south-east, south and south-west there is a high curved ridge overlooking the Pumice-Stone Plains, and presenting a very steep face to the peak. Between the ridge and the sea the slope is more gradual, and there are intervening tablelands. Peaks rise from the ridge, one of which (Guajara) attains the height of 8,90o ft. Both El Piton and Chahorra have craters on their summits, from which issue steam and a little sulphurous vapour. The crater on El Piton is partly surrounded by a wall of lava, which has been made white by the action of sulphurous vapours. The crater is about 30o ft. across, with a depth of 7o ft. The crater on Chahorra has a diameter of 4,000 ft.; its depth is scarcely 15o ft. The entrance to the Llano at a sort of natural gateway (called Portillo) between two basaltic hills, is about 7,000 ft. above the sea. Between two and three hours are con sumed in crossing the Llano to the base of the cone, the lower part of which is ascended to a point 9,75o ft. above the sea.
To the north-west of the grand cone, some thousands of feet below Chahorra, there are many small cones of eruption, showing that the intensity of volcanic action was greatest on this side. Eastward from the ridge bounding the Pumice-Stone Plains extends a chain of mountains to the north-eastern extremity of the island. The highest peaks are Izana (7,374 ft.), Perejil (6,027), and Cuchillo There is no record of eruptions from either crater of the peak. In 1795 a great quantity of lava was poured out from three vents on the eastern side ; and in the same year lava streams issued from a crater near Guimar, half-way between Santa Cruz and the peak. In the year 1706 a vent on the north-western side of the peak discharged a copious stream, which flowed down to the sea, and nearly filled up the harbour of Garachico. For three months in 1798 much lava and other volcanic matter were ejected.
Santa Cruz, the capital of Teneriffe and of the Canaries, and La Laguna, the former capital, are described in separate articles. A good road connects Santa Cruz and Orotava, a town on the north coast 25 m. W.N.W. Date-palms form a striking feature in the landscapes. The town of Orotava (pop. 14,436) is 1,040 ft. above the sea. The houses are solidly built, but it has a deserted aspect. A stream of water is conducted through every street. Port Orotava, 3 m. N. of the town, is a clean place, with about 4,500 inhabitants. The streets are broad and the houses well built. (See also CANARY ISLANDS.)