At the northwest of the Canaries archipelago, a few hundred miles from the coast of north-west Africa, lies the island of La Palma, also known as La Isla Bonita, because of its extraordinary natural beauty. La Palma is one of the smaller of the Canary islands, with a surface area of 706 square kilometres and a population of only 80,000. It is unusual in that it rises exceptionally steeply from the ocean, the entire central mountain range exceeding 2000 m in altitude. The highest point on the island is the Roque de los Muchachos (2426 m), the location of the astronomical observatory.