Yaiza is a small town in the island of

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 163,230 inhabi ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It lies in the southwest of the island. The population in 2012 was 857.INE
/ref> The town gives its name to the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Yaiza, although it is much smaller than the largest settlement in the municipality,

Playa Blanca Playa Blanca (Spanish language, Spanish for "White Beach") is the southernmost town of the Spain, Spanish island of Lanzarote. It is the newest resort on the island, and is part of the municipality of Yaiza (municipality), Yaiza. Approximately ...

. The town has a town hall, tree-lined streets, and a floodlit public football stadium. Each year, at Christmas, Yaiza displays a large "Belén" (a belén is a

nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmastide, Christmas season, of ar ...

). The Yaiza Belén includes miniaturised scenes from around the island, with miniatures of Playa Blanca,

Arrecife Arrecife (; ; ) is the capital city and a municipality of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. It was made the island's capital in 1852. The city owes its name to the rock reef ("arrecife" being Spanish for "reef") which covers its local beach. It als ...

, and

Timanfaya Timanfaya National Park () is a Spanish List of Spanish national parks, national park in the southwestern part of the island of Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands. It covers parts of the municipalities Tinajo (municipality), Tinajo and Yaiza (munici ...

. Children and visitors are encouraged to seek the

caganer A Caganer () is a figurine depicted in the act of defecation appearing in nativity scenes in Catalonia and neighbouring Traditions of Catalonia, areas such as Andorra, Valencian Community, Valencia, Balearic Islands, and Northern Catalonia (in so ...

, a figurine of a young man defecating, as it is considered good luck to spot him. Highway LZ2 connects the town to Playa Blanca in the south and

to the east.

Geography and climate

Yaiza has a hot desert climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''BWh'';

Trewartha Glenn Thomas Trewartha (1896 – 1984) was an American geographer of Cornish American descent. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with a Ph.D. in 1924. He taught at the University of Wisconsin. He gave an address to th ...

: ''BWal'') with an annual precipitation of only and no more than 24 days of precipitation.

References

External links

* (in Spanish) {{Coord, 28, 57, 8, N, 13, 45, 53, W, display=title Populated places in Lanzarote