Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the capital of Spain’s Las Palmas Province, which lies off the northwest coast of Africa. Also a port, the city is a major supply and fuelling station for transatlantic vessels. The chief industries here are tourism, fishing, and fish processing. The principal exports are foodstuffs and tobacco.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, founded in 1478, contains a cathedral begun in the same year and a house visited by Christopher Columbus in 1492.