Palm Deira
Palm Deira is the largest of the three Dubai Palms. Even before its completion, it is already legendary for its scale, vision, and innovation. As the name reveals, it is just off the coast of Deira, Dubai's historic center. Therefor, of all the palms, it is the one closest to Dubai's classic downtown (but then again, Dubai is more and more turning into a multi-centred city of a kind the world has never seen). On its other side, Palm Deira borders on the Emirate of Sharjah (which, of course, also is a United Arab Emirates member state). Dubai International Airport is close as well, as is the newly built Maritime City.
Obviously, it looks like a palm tree. Speaking of its size, it is 12.5 by 7.5 kilometers big.
Palm Deira has been completed as an artificial island, and now it is moving into the construction process's next phase: the fine tuning. This will include an incredible variety of luxury villas, hotels, retail and recreational facilities. In order words: Just what you would expect from a place like Dubai. And it cannot be said often enough: The environmentalist critics of the project have been proven wrong.