Maspalomas is the oldest touristic town in the south coast of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. Maspalomas is part of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana. Its name may derive from that of Rodrigo Mas de Palomar, a settler and soldier from Majorca, or from Francisco Palomar, a Genoese friend of Alonso Fernandez de Lugo who purchased 87 Guanche slaves from Güímar and settled in the area.

The place is famous for tourism, its hotels, beaches, dunes, apartments, and other facilities including restaurants, bars, taverns, shopping centres, souvenirs, and businesses.

There is a 68 m tall lighthouse, named El Faro de Maspalomas, at the southern point from where the 12 km long beach and dunes, a nature reserve since 1897, lead to Playa del Inglés.
Image:Lagoon_of_Maspalomas.jpg|LagoonImage:Lighthouse_Maspalomas.jpg|LighthouseImage:Maspalomas Gran Canaria.jpg|BeachImage:VogelschutzgebietLaCharca.jpg|Important Bird Area "La Charca"

Notes

External links

• El nombre de Maspalomas (etymological study)