The last major volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands and Spain occurred at La Palma in 2021. Despite its spectacular intensity, it was smaller in impact than the great Lanzarote eruption of 1730. That event altered a third of the island and destroyed the most fertile lands, leaving a memory of a true mega bang that has not been matched since.
A nearby Yaiza pastor became an improvised chronicler, recording what happened during a time when the media could not reach the island. His early entry describes a violent beginning near Timanfaya. He wrote, in effect, that on a September evening the ground split, a great mountain rose, flames erupted from the peak, and the fire persisted for nineteen days.
What followed was even more dramatic. Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo documented how new volcanoes appeared in a landscape once dominated by cultivated fields. By January 1731 the activity had intensified. On the 10th a colossal cone surged up and then collapsed into its own crater, blanketing the island with ash and rocks. On February 3 another cone emerged, burning the village of Rodeo and, after devastating the area, reached the sea. On March 7 additional cones rose and lava flowed northward into the sea toward Tingafa, which was laid waste. New craters and cones appeared on March 20. On April 13 two mountains sank with a terrifying roar.
Map of the eruption of Timanfaya in a painting of time agencies
Scenes described include herds of cattle killed by toxic gas clouds and vast fish kills in the sea caused by lava entering the water. Witnesses spoke of an extraordinary violence, where new mountains formed in moments and some later collapsed under their own weight.
Six years later, on April 16, 1736, it seemed the eruption finally began to quiet. Yet a third of the island remained uninhabitable and the landscape looked utterly different from before.
Ten towns buried under lava
The final balance included ten towns swallowed by lava: Tingafa, Montaña Blanca, Maretas, Santa Catalina, Jaretas, San Juan, Peña de Palmas, Testeina, and Rodeos. Their remains lie beneath the dark, jagged rocks that now define the land around Timanfaya National Park. The area forms part of a remarkable geological region open to visitors.
Only one life was lost the death of a young child, but many people were displaced. Lanzarote’s population then numbered about 5,000 across 1,077 homes. Around 2,000 residents migrated to other islands and even to South America, reshaping the island’s demographic map for generations.
The remaining inhabitants survived on a subsistence level, relying on the island’s modest agricultural output and whatever resources could be spared from the recovering landscape.
Caldera del Cuervo was the first volcanic vent to form in this expansive eruption sequence. Today it can be reached on a pleasant excursion along trails that reveal the scale of the disaster from the 18th century. Nearby, the last vent to emerge during that era could be seen from a short distance, while a series of cones rose on the horizon, forever altering the terrain.
Declared a National Park in 1974
Today the Timanfaya perimeter forms a national park established by the Spanish government in 1974. The park hosts at least 25 volcanic features and offers a stark, Martian-like landscape that has even served as a filming location for science fiction. It covers about 5,100 hectares. Surrounding it is the Volcanic Parks Natural Reserve, which spans more than 10,100 hectares. Together they create a vast conservation area where visitors can witness the raw power of nature.
Caldera del Cuervo, a volcano that formed during those eruptions, has become a notable feature of the landscape, as shown by nearby photographs taken by visitors. The Timanfaya isolation and rugged terrain are contrasted by more recent volcanic activity that continues to generate hot spots up to 100 to 120 degrees Celsius, with surface readings around 600 degrees Celsius at shallow depths. This ongoing volcanism makes the Canary Islands a compelling natural laboratory.
Today, large stretches of malpaís, land covered by cooled lava, remain almost impassable and illustrate how slowly lava can be overtaken by plant and animal life. The land still bears the imprint of that dramatic episode, though the island has rebuilt much of its life around its resilient communities and its unique geology.
For those exploring the area, the volcanic history of Lanzarote offers a vivid reminder of how quickly Earth can reshape a landscape and how communities adapt to new realities. The story continues to be a powerful testament to nature’s endurance and the human capacity to endure upheaval.
Environment department contact address: [redacted]