Telde

Telde, city, Las Palmas provincia (province), in the Canary Islands comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), Spain. It lies on the southeastern part of Gran Canaria Island. It extends beneath the Telde Cliff south of Las Palmas city, near the eastern coast. The island’s aboriginal inhabitants, the Guanches, were first subdued (1480) by Pedro de Vera Mendoza, who built a fort on the present site called Telde (derived from telle, a name given to a local fig tree). The nearby Montaña de Cuatro Puertas (“Mountain of Four Doors”), held sacred by the Guanches, is now the site of archaeological excavations. Telde was once a major producer of sugar, wines, and dyes, which were exported via Melenara Bay to the southeast. The trade declined in the 18th century as a result of Spanish-American colonial competition. Telde’s economy is now based on banana and tomato cultivation for export, livestock raising, fishing, and the production of ammonium sulfate. There are mineral springs at nearby Las Salinetas. Pop. (2007 est.) mun., 98,399.