The last major volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands (and Spain) occurred at La Palma in 2021. Yet, despite its spectacular nature and severity, it was an irrelevant event compared to the rates of the great Lanzarote eruption of 1730. It took less than six years, devastating a third of the island’s surface and destroying the most fertile land on the island. Nothing like it has been seen since. It was a real ‘mega bang’.
The pastor of the nearby town of Yaiza was an impromptu historian of what happened, as he left everything that happened every day in writing, in a time of no media.
“On September 1, between nine and ten at night, two leagues from Yaiza, near Timanfaya, the land suddenly opened up. On the first night, a great mountain rose from the womb of the earth. and flames escaped from the apex, which continued to burn for nineteen days”, his first entry.
But this was just the beginning. Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo would describe how new volcanoes arise in a landscape dominated by formerly cultivated fields. In January 1731 everything was still in full swing:
On the 10th, he saw an enormous mountain rise that sank into his own crater that same day., covered the island with ash and stones with a terrible noise (…) On February 3, a new cone rose, burning the village of Rodeo, and after devastating the entire area of this village, it reached the sea shores (… ) On March 7, other cones rose and the lava flows north into the sea. headed towards Tingafa, which was completely devastated. The new cones, complete with craters, rose on March 20 (…) On April 13, two mountains sank with a frightening noise…”.
scenes herds of cattle killed by gas clouds from volcanoeshuge amount of dead fish in the sea due to the arrival of lava… All evidence of an unknown violence event where in a single day new mountains/volcanoes sprouted from the surface and sometimes suddenly collapsed under his weight.
Six years later, on April 16, 1736, everything seemed to have finally calmed down. But a third of the island has become uninhabitable and its landscape is completely unrecognizable.
Ten towns buried under lava
The final equilibrium was ten towns buried under the lava: Tingafa, Montaña Blanca, Maretas, Santa Catalina, Jaretas, San Juan, Peña de Palmas, Testeina, and Rodeos. Its remains are still found under the dark, jagged rocks that dominate the land. From Timanfaya National Park and its surroundings.
There was only one death to mourn, the death of a small child. However, many were displaced. Lanzarote was then inhabited by about 5,000 residents distributed to 1,077 homes. 2,000 had to migrate to other islands of the archipelago and even to South America.
The rest of the population, those who remained, lived off the very low agricultural production of an island that had never been extremely productive in its own right.
Caldera del Cuervo was the first volcano to form in this massive and continuous eruption process. It can be visited today with a pleasant excursion along the peaceful trails that reveal the enormity of the disaster that occurred in the 18th century. It so happens that the last of the volcanoes that appeared at that time, not so much, can be seen from meters away. And on the horizon appeared a series of cones that changed the landscape forever.
Declared a National Park in 1974
Today, this entire perimeter is Timanfaya National Park, declared by the Spanish Government in 1974. There are at least 25 volcanoes insidemakes it a true paradise for geology lovers. The landscape with clear Martian resonances has served to shoot more than one sci-fi movie. It covers a total area of 5,100 hectares.
But this national park, in turn, is surrounded by the Volcanoes Natural Park, which covers more than 10,100 hectares and, together with the National Park, forms a vast conservation area where you can admire the power of nature.
But 1730-1736 was not Lanzarote’s last eruption, because Almost a hundred years later, in 1824, eruptions resumed at Timanfaya.. This new division gave rise to the so-called Volcán de Tinguatón, Tao and del Fuego.
It offers volcanic activity even today, as there are hot spots reaching 100º-120º C and 600º C on the surface at a depth of 13 meters.
It is one of the most interesting spots in the Canary Islands from a natural point of view. shows how nature can suddenly change. Also, vast stretches of malpaís (land occupied by lava) today, three centuries later, are completely impassable, showing how slow the colonization of areas occupied by lava was, as these masses remained the same as if they had appeared yesterday. itself in the Earth.
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