Tenerife, a Spanish island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. The island's population is 839,000 making it the most populated in the archipelago. The capital city, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, is as well as the second biggest city in the archipielago. The island is home to the La Laguna University founded in 1792. Like the rest of the Canary Islands, it is of volcanic origin. The 3 eruptions that created the island finally went quiet about 3.5M years ago, although small murmurs occur. The most recent Earthquake of about 4 on the Richter scale was in 2002. The highest point of Spain, Teide (3 718 m), is on this island. The island itself is clearly divided in a very dry southern part and a very humid and green north. Tourism is the most prominent industry in the Canaries, being one of the major tourist destinations in the World. Tourism is concentrated more in the south of the island, which is hotter and drier and especially around well developed resorts Playa de las Americas, and Los Cristianos. More recently coastal development has spread northwards from Playa de las Americas and now encompasses the former small enclave of  La Caleta. The Area know as Costa Adeje (Las Américas-Los Cristianos), comprises many world - class facilities and leisure opportunities besides sea and sand, such as quality shopping centres, golf courses( 9 in the island), restaurants, aquaparks, animal parks, a theatre suitable for musicals or a Congress Hall, all in a very characteristic Las Vegas-like aesthetic. In the more lush and green north of the island the main development for tourism has been in the town of Puerto de la Cruz . The town itself has kept some of its old-harbour town charm mixed with northern European influences. Still, the tourist boom in the 60´s changed the outlook of the town, making it cosy and cosmopolitan at the same time, and a favourite for the more mature traveller, and notably the German and Spanish tourist. The metropolitan Area formed by Santa Cruz and La Laguna will be served by a tranvia (tram) working in early 2007, after 2 years of intensive works. Known to the Romans as Nivaria (from the Latin nix, nivis, "snow"), a reference to the snows atop the volcano known as El Teide, Tenerife bears a name that is also a reference to this volcano, and was used for the island by the Guanches of the neighboring island of La Palma, “Tene” signifying “mountain” and “ife” white (the “r” was added by the Spanish). To the natives of Tenerife, the island was known as Chenech, Chinech or Achinech.