Canary Islands Volcanoes Explained: La Palma, Tenerife, El Hierro, Lanzarote and the Eastern Atlantic Hotspots

Canary Islands Volcanoes Overview

The Canary Islands form a volcanic archipelago in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, west of Morocco and Western
Sahara. The Spanish autonomous community includes seven principal traditionally recognized islands—Lanzarote,
Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro—as well as La Graciosa and numerous
smaller islets.

Every island is volcanic, but they are not equally old, equally active or equally hazardous. Fuerteventura and
Lanzarote occupy the eastern end of the archipelago and contain some of its oldest exposed rocks. La Palma and
El Hierro are younger western islands with abundant youthful cones and recent eruptions.

The simple idea that the islands become steadily younger from east to west is broadly useful but incomplete.
Volcanism has repeatedly returned to older islands, and historical eruptions occurred on Lanzarote despite its
great age. Tenerife contains both ancient deeply eroded massifs and the young, active Teide–Pico Viejo system.

Why Are the Canary Islands Volcanic?

The Canary Islands lie within the interior of the African Plate rather than directly on a mid-ocean ridge or
subduction boundary. Their volcanism is therefore classified as intraplate volcanism.

Magma forms beneath the archipelago when unusually hot mantle rises and undergoes partial melting as pressure
decreases. The magma then exploits fractures and zones of weakness within the oceanic lithosphere.

Basaltic magma can collect beneath an island, rise through vertical or inclined sheets called
dikes and erupt from fissures distributed along volcanic rift zones. These intrusions can force
surrounding rock apart, producing earthquake swarms and measurable ground deformation before an eruption.

Over millions of years, repeated eruptions construct vast submarine volcanoes. Only their highest portions rise
above sea level as islands. Teide, for example, reaches 3,715 meters above sea level, but the entire volcanic
structure rises approximately 7,500 meters from the ocean floor.

The Canary Hotspot and Competing Origin Models

The origin of Canary volcanism has been debated for decades. The most familiar explanation invokes a
mantle hotspot: a long-lived thermal anomaly that supplies magma beneath the African Plate.

However, the Canaries do not display the perfectly simple age progression often associated with textbook hotspot
chains. The African Plate moves slowly, volcanic activity has persisted on older islands and regional fractures
appear to influence where magma reaches the surface.

Several models have therefore been proposed:

• Classic hotspot model: A mantle plume or deep thermal anomaly supplies magma while the African
  Plate moves above it.
• Propagating-fracture model: Regional fractures extending from northwest Africa facilitate
  magma ascent through the lithosphere.
• Edge-driven convection: Differences between thick continental lithosphere and thinner oceanic
  lithosphere generate localized mantle circulation and melting.
• Unifying models: A mantle thermal anomaly provides magma while lithospheric fractures,
  regional stress and proximity to the continental margin determine where eruptions occur.

Current evidence supports a significant mantle thermal anomaly beneath the region, but the surface pattern is
strongly modified by the complicated structure of the African Plate and its continental margin. Canary volcanism
is therefore more nuanced than the phrase “the plate moved over a stationary blowtorch.”

Island Ages and Volcanic Evolution

The oldest main islands lie in the east, while the youngest lie farther west. This age progression is one of the
most important observations supporting a hotspot-related origin.

Yet each island follows its own complex life cycle rather than moving cleanly from “active” to “extinct.”
A generalized ocean-island sequence includes:

1. Submarine growth: Lava accumulates on the seafloor.
2. Island emergence: Eruptions finally build the volcano above sea level.
3. Shield construction: Repeated fluid lava flows create a broad volcanic edifice.
4. Central or rift-zone activity: Cones, fissures, calderas and more evolved magma systems develop.
5. Erosion and collapse: Valleys, cliffs and landslide scars dissect the island.
6. Volcanic rejuvenation: New eruptions may occur after long periods of reduced activity.

This final stage is important. Lanzarote is old, but it produced the enormous 1730–1736 Timanfaya eruption
sequence and another eruption in 1824. Great age therefore does not always eliminate future volcanic potential.

Canary Islands from East to West

Which Canary Islands Are Active?

The answer depends on how “active” is defined. A volcano may be considered active if it has erupted during the
Holocene, shows continuing geothermal or seismic activity or retains a plausible pathway for future magma ascent.

Four islands have produced eruptions documented during the last several centuries:

• La Palma
• El Hierro
• Tenerife
• Lanzarote

Gran Canaria preserves younger prehistoric activity, while Fuerteventura and La Gomera have much older volcanic
records. The absence of a recent eruption does not by itself prove that every magmatic process beneath an island
has permanently ended.

However, it is also misleading to treat all islands as equally likely to erupt. La Palma, El Hierro and Tenerife
contain the clearest concentrations of young volcanic structures and current monitoring interest, while Lanzarote
demonstrates that volcanic rejuvenation can affect an older island.

La Palma and the Cumbre Vieja Volcanic Ridge

La Palma is one of the youngest and most volcanically active Canary Islands. Its northern half is
dominated by the deeply eroded Taburiente complex, while its southern half is formed by the much younger
Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge.

Despite its name, which means “Old Summit,” Cumbre Vieja is the island’s youngest major volcanic system. Numerous
cones, craters and fissures extend along a north–south-trending ridge toward the island’s southern tip.

Historical eruptions have repeatedly opened from different points along this ridge rather than from one permanent
summit crater. Magma intrudes through dikes, fractures the island and may erupt from several vents during the same
episode.

Historic La Palma Eruptions

• 1585: Tahuya eruption
• 1646: Martín eruption
• 1677–1678: San Antonio eruption
• 1712: El Charco eruption
• 1949: San Juan eruption
• 1971: Teneguía eruption
• 2021: Tajogaite eruption

These events commonly produced basaltic lava flows, cinder cones, Strombolian explosions, volcanic gases and
ashfall. Several lava flows reached the Atlantic and created new coastal platforms.

The 1949 San Juan Eruption

The 1949 eruption opened vents at Duraznero, Hoyo Negro and Llano del Banco. It produced explosions, lava flows
and ground fractures across Cumbre Vieja.

Fractures observed during and after the event later contributed to speculative claims that the island’s western
flank was about to collapse. Ground cracking alone, however, does not prove that a coherent island-sized block is
sliding toward immediate failure.

The 1971 Teneguía Eruption

The Teneguía eruption occurred near the southern tip of La Palma. Lava advanced toward the ocean, covered land
near Fuencaliente and formed new coastal terrain.

Teneguía became one of the best-known twentieth-century Canary eruptions because it was accessible to observers
and extensively photographed.

The 2021 La Palma Eruption

On September 19, 2021, an eruption began on the western flank of Cumbre Vieja after an escalating earthquake
swarm, magma intrusion and measurable ground deformation.

Multiple vents opened near Cabeza de Vaca in the municipality of El Paso. The eruption later became officially
associated with the name Tajogaite.

Activity continued for almost three months and included:

• Strombolian explosions
• High lava fountains
• Persistent ash and sulfur-dioxide emissions
• Branching lava flows
• Opening and closing of multiple vents
• Earthquakes at several depth levels
• Collapse and rebuilding of the main cone
• Formation of new lava deltas at the coast

Damage and Disruption

Lava buried neighborhoods, roads, farms, irrigation networks and thousands of buildings. Communities including
Todoque were heavily affected, and large numbers of residents were evacuated.

Banana plantations—central to the local economy—were damaged by lava, ash, isolation and disrupted water
infrastructure. Ashfall repeatedly closed schools, affected air travel and required continuous removal from roofs
and roads.

Lava Reaching the Ocean

When lava entered the Atlantic, seawater flashed into steam and generated acidic plumes containing water vapor,
hydrochloric acid and fine particles.

The new lava deltas remained unstable. Sections could crack or collapse without warning, exposing people to
explosions, waves, toxic gas and sudden ground failure.

What the 2021 Eruption Taught Scientists

The eruption demonstrated the value of combining seismicity, GNSS deformation, satellite radar, gas monitoring,
thermal observations and field mapping.

It also showed the limits of forecasting. Scientists identified escalating unrest and the high probability of an
eruption, but the exact vent location, duration and final lava pathways could not be known in advance.

El Hierro and the 2011–2012 Submarine Eruption

El Hierro is the smallest and southwesternmost of the principal Canary Islands. Its shape is
controlled by three volcanic rift zones extending away from the island’s central region.

Enormous amphitheater-shaped depressions around the island record ancient flank collapses. The best known is
El Golfo, which dominates the northwestern coast.

The 2011 Earthquake Swarm

In July 2011, an intense earthquake swarm began beneath El Hierro. Over the following months, earthquake locations
migrated as magma moved through the crust.

Ground deformation and gas observations supported the interpretation that a magmatic intrusion was developing.
Some residents were evacuated as the crisis intensified.

Submarine Eruption South of La Restinga

In October 2011, magma reached the seafloor south of the fishing village of La Restinga. The submarine eruption
produced discolored water, gas bubbles, floating volcanic fragments and disturbance of the marine environment.

The vent developed into a submarine cone later called Tagoro. Eruptive activity continued into
2012 but did not build a permanent new island above sea level.

Submarine Eruption Hazards

• Gas-rich water and reduced oxygen
• Rapid changes in water temperature and chemistry
• Floating volcanic debris
• Explosive activity if the vent becomes shallow
• Restrictions on shipping, fishing and diving
• Damage to marine ecosystems followed by gradual recolonization

El Hierro showed that the next Canary eruption does not need to begin on land. Much of each island’s volcanic
system continues beneath the surrounding ocean.

Tenerife, Mount Teide and Pico Viejo

Tenerife is the largest and most populous Canary Island. Its central landscape is dominated by
the Teide–Pico Viejo volcanic complex within the broad Las Cañadas depression.

Mount Teide is the highest point in Spain and the highest volcano above sea level in the Atlantic islands.
Measured from the ocean floor, the full Tenerife volcanic edifice is one of the tallest volcanic structures on
Earth.

How Tenerife Was Built

Tenerife developed through the growth and merging of several older shield volcanoes. Their remnants survive in
the Anaga, Teno and Roque del Conde massifs.

Later activity built a large central volcanic complex. Repeated explosive eruptions, structural collapse and
erosion helped form the Las Cañadas depression, within which Teide and Pico Viejo subsequently grew.

Teide–Pico Viejo

Teide and Pico Viejo are not simple basaltic cones. Their magmatic system has produced basaltic lava as well as
more evolved, viscous phonolitic magma.

This matters because evolved magma can retain gas and generate more explosive activity than typical fluid basalt.
Tenerife’s geological record includes widespread pumice and ignimbrite deposits from powerful prehistoric
eruptions.

Tenerife’s Rift Zones

Three major rift zones radiate across Tenerife:

• Northwest Rift Zone
• Northeast Rift Zone
• South or Dorsal Rift Zone

Historical eruptions have commonly opened along these rifts rather than directly from Teide’s summit.

Historic Tenerife Eruptions

• 1492: An eruption observed during Christopher Columbus’s voyage is commonly associated with Tenerife.
• 1704–1705: Siete Fuentes, Fasnia and Arafo eruptions
• 1706: Garachico eruption
• 1798: Chahorra or Narices del Teide eruption
• 1909: Chinyero eruption

The 1706 Garachico Eruption

Lava from the Trevejos or Garachico eruption descended toward the northwestern coast and damaged the town’s port.
The event disrupted one of Tenerife’s most important commercial centers.

The eruption is a classic example of a relatively modest basaltic event causing major economic consequences
because its lava entered a developed area.

The 1909 Chinyero Eruption

Tenerife’s most recent eruption began in November 1909 along the northwestern rift zone. Strombolian explosions
built a cinder cone and fed lava flows through a largely rural area.

No eruption has occurred on Tenerife since 1909, but the island remains an active volcanic system monitored for
seismicity, gas emissions and deformation.

Lanzarote and the Timanfaya Eruptions

Lanzarote is one of the oldest Canary Islands, yet it experienced the archipelago’s largest
historical eruption sequence.

Between 1730 and 1736, fissures opened across western Lanzarote and produced years of intermittent activity.
Dozens of cones formed, and extensive lava flows buried farms, villages and some of the island’s most productive
land.

The Timanfaya Eruption Sequence

The eruption did not come from a single central volcano. Magma opened a succession of vents along a long fissure
system.

Activity included:

• Strombolian explosions
• Scoria and cinder-cone construction
• Extensive basaltic lava flows
• Volcanic gas release
• Burial of agricultural land and settlements
• Creation of a new volcanic landscape over a large part of western Lanzarote

The resulting terrain is preserved within and around Timanfaya National Park. Its cones, craters and lava fields
appear geologically fresh because of the island’s dry climate and limited erosion.

The 1824 Eruption

Lanzarote erupted again in 1824 from vents including Nuevo del Fuego, Tao and Tinguatón. This episode was much
smaller than the eighteenth-century Timanfaya sequence.

The eruption confirmed that volcanic activity could return to the old eastern end of the archipelago after a
relatively short historical interval.

Lava Tubes and Jameos

Lanzarote contains extensive lava tubes formed when the surface of a lava flow solidified while molten lava
continued moving beneath it.

Sections of tube roofs later collapsed, creating openings known locally as jameos. The Cueva de
los Verdes and Jameos del Agua form part of a major volcanic-tube system associated with the Corona volcano.

Gran Canaria: Calderas, Ignimbrites and Volcanic Rejuvenation

Gran Canaria preserves one of the most complex volcanic histories in the archipelago. Early shield
construction was followed by large explosive eruptions, caldera development, erosion and later rejuvenated
volcanism.

Large Explosive Eruptions

Gran Canaria produced enormous volumes of evolved magma during parts of its history. Pyroclastic flows deposited
widespread ignimbrites, while caldera collapse reshaped the center of the island.

These deposits demonstrate that Canary volcanism is not exclusively gentle or basaltic. Under suitable conditions,
ocean-island magma can evolve into silica-rich compositions capable of major explosive eruptions.

Bandama Caldera

Caldera de Bandama is a broad volcanic crater in northeastern Gran Canaria. It formed through explosive
magma-water interaction and later Strombolian activity.

The caldera belongs to a field of comparatively young volcanic vents and is one of the island’s clearest examples
of Holocene volcanic activity.

Current Risk

Gran Canaria has not erupted during recorded history. Its near-term eruption probability is lower than that of
La Palma, El Hierro or Tenerife, but the presence of young vents prevents the island’s volcanic history from being
dismissed as entirely ancient.

Fuerteventura: The Eroded Foundation of the Archipelago

Fuerteventura contains some of the oldest exposed volcanic rocks in the Canary Islands. Long
erosion has reduced its former volcanic mountains to rounded ridges, broad valleys and deeply exposed intrusive
complexes.

In places, erosion reveals dikes and plutonic rocks that originally solidified inside the volcano. These exposures
provide geologists with a view into the internal plumbing of an ocean-island edifice.

Younger cones and lava fields demonstrate that volcanic activity returned after much of the original shield had
been eroded. Nevertheless, the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program does not list a confirmed Holocene eruption
for Fuerteventura.

Present geological hazards are dominated more by erosion, slope failure, flash flooding and coastal processes than
by likely short-term volcanic activity.

La Gomera: An Ancient Volcano Sculpted by Erosion

La Gomera has no known Holocene eruption and lacks the fresh cones and lava fields common on
La Palma or Lanzarote.

Millions of years of erosion have cut deep ravines into the island and exposed resistant volcanic plugs and
vertical dikes. The dramatic rock towers known as roques represent magma that solidified within vents or conduits
and remained after surrounding material was removed.

Garajonay National Park preserves humid laurel forest across part of this ancient volcanic landscape.

La Gomera illustrates the late erosional stage of an oceanic volcanic island. Its principal natural hazards are
now associated with steep terrain, rockfalls, landslides, wildfires and intense rainfall rather than active
eruption.

Madeira Volcanic Province

The Madeira archipelago lies north of the Canary Islands and includes Madeira, Porto Santo, the
Desertas and the Selvagens.

Like the Canaries, Madeira was built by intraplate volcanism on the African Plate. Its islands are the emergent
portions of much larger submarine volcanic edifices.

Older geological interpretations sometimes grouped Canary and Madeira volcanism into a broad linked hotspot
province. Modern seismic imaging indicates that the two archipelagos are associated with distinct neighboring
upper-mantle structures. They should therefore not be described as one continuous active volcanic chain.

Madeira Island

Madeira’s rugged mountains, sea cliffs, deep valleys and lava-built plateaus record repeated stages of shield
growth, later eruptions, erosion and mass wasting.

Geological evidence indicates eruptions during the Holocene, but Madeira has no confirmed eruption in written
history. Its present surface activity is far quieter than that of La Palma, El Hierro or Tenerife.

Porto Santo

Porto Santo is older and more deeply eroded than Madeira. Erosion has exposed intrusive rocks, dikes and remnants
of older volcanic centers.

Selvagens and Seamounts

The Selvagens and nearby seamounts preserve a long history of magmatism in the eastern Atlantic. Some volcanic
structures never reached sea level, while others emerged and were later eroded.

Madeira Hazards

Madeira’s most immediate geological dangers are associated with steep slopes, landslides, rockfalls, flash floods
and coastal instability. These hazards are strongly influenced by volcanic bedrock but do not require renewed
eruptive activity.

The inclusion of Madeira in this regional guide is therefore useful for comparing two neighboring Atlantic
volcanic provinces and their shared pattern of island construction, erosion and flank failure—not because the
islands form one modern eruptive system.

Canary Islands Eruption Styles

Canary eruptions range from quiet lava effusion to violent explosive events. Eruption behavior depends on magma
composition, gas content, ascent rate, vent geometry and interaction with groundwater or seawater.

Strombolian Eruptions

Strombolian activity consists of repeated explosions caused by large gas bubbles bursting near an open vent.
These explosions throw incandescent bombs, lapilli and scoria into the air.

The 2021 La Palma eruption frequently displayed Strombolian activity while also feeding extensive lava flows.

Hawaiian-Style Lava Fountains

Gas-rich basaltic magma may produce sustained fountains and fluid lava flows. Individual Canary eruptions can
alternate between Hawaiian and Strombolian behavior.

Fissure Eruptions

Many historical eruptions opened along fractures rather than from established summit craters. A fissure may feed
several aligned vents and cones.

Cumbre Vieja, Tenerife’s rift zones and the Timanfaya field are major examples.

Phreatomagmatic Eruptions

When magma encounters groundwater or seawater, rapid steam expansion can fragment the magma and surrounding rock.
These eruptions may produce fine ash, broad craters and low, turbulent pyroclastic surges.

Explosive Phonolitic Eruptions

Tenerife and Gran Canaria have generated evolved phonolitic magmas capable of producing pumice fall, pyroclastic
currents and ignimbrites.

These uncommon but potentially severe events distinguish the central volcanic systems from purely basaltic
monogenetic fields.

Submarine Eruptions

Eruptions below sea level may produce pillow lava, fragmented glass, hydrothermal plumes and floating pumice-like
fragments. As a vent approaches shallow water, activity may become increasingly explosive.

Learn more in:
Submarine Volcanoes and Seamounts Explained.

Major Volcanic Hazards in the Canary Islands

Why Canary Lava Flows Are So Destructive

Basaltic lava flows are usually slower than pyroclastic currents, but they are extremely difficult to stop.
Buildings cannot resist direct burial, and roads may be cut within hours.

A lava flow’s path depends on:

• Vent location
• Ground slope
• Eruption rate
• Lava viscosity
• Pre-existing valleys, cones and barriers
• Development of insulated lava tubes

Small differences in vent position can determine whether lava remains in uninhabited terrain or enters densely
developed communities.

The 2021 eruption showed how repeated branching and overlapping flows can isolate areas before burying them.
Infrastructure may become unusable even when it is not directly covered by lava.

Ash and Volcanic Gas Hazards

Canary eruptions commonly release ash and gas for weeks or months. Their effects extend far beyond the lava field.

Volcanic Ash

Ash can irritate eyes and lungs, reduce road traction, contaminate water, damage engines, block drains and force
airports to close.

Thick ash becomes much heavier when wet. Roofs and weak structures should be cleared only according to official
safety instructions.

Sulfur Dioxide

Sulfur dioxide can produce respiratory irritation and acidic haze. Wind may carry volcanic pollution far from the
vent.

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide is invisible and heavier than air. It can accumulate in depressions, basements, caves and poorly
ventilated structures.

Ocean-Entry Plumes

Lava entering seawater generates steam and acidic aerosols. Spectators should remain outside official coastal
exclusion zones even when the lava entry appears calm.

Why the Canary Islands Experience Volcanic Earthquake Swarms

An earthquake swarm is a sequence containing many earthquakes without one clearly dominant mainshock.

In volcanic regions, swarms may occur when:

• Magma fractures surrounding rock
• A dike propagates laterally or vertically
• Pressure changes inside a magma reservoir
• Gas and hydrothermal fluids move through fractures
• Regional tectonic faults respond to magmatic stress

The depth and migration of earthquakes can help scientists infer where magma may be moving. Before the 2021 La
Palma eruption, seismicity migrated and became progressively associated with a shallow intrusion.

However, not every swarm leads to an eruption. Magma may stall underground, cool, spread laterally or fail to find
a path to the surface.

Volcanic Flank Collapse and Tsunami Risk

Ocean-island volcanoes grow rapidly on steep seafloor slopes. Layers of lava, ash, fragmented rock and altered
material can become unstable over geological time.

The Canary Islands preserve immense landslide scars and submarine debris deposits created when large sections of
old volcanic edifices collapsed into the Atlantic.

Can La Palma Produce a Mega-Tsunami?

Claims that La Palma is destined to split apart and generate an imminent Atlantic-wide mega-tsunami are highly
exaggerated.

Cumbre Vieja has experienced deformation and contains steep volcanic slopes, but there is no evidence that a
single enormous block is currently accelerating toward catastrophic failure.

Published worst-case models explored what might happen under extreme assumptions. They should not be confused with
a prediction or the most likely future scenario.

What Is the Realistic Hazard?

More plausible volcanic tsunami sources include:

• Smaller coastal landslides
• Collapse of unstable lava deltas
• Submarine slope failures
• Pyroclastic material entering the sea
• Shallow submarine explosions

These events could produce dangerous local or regional waves with little warning, especially close to the source.

Learn more:
Volcanic Tsunamis Explained.

How Canary Islands Volcanoes Are Monitored

Volcanic surveillance in the Canary Islands combines work by Spain’s
Instituto Geográfico Nacional, regional institutions, universities, civil-protection agencies
and specialized scientific organizations.

Seismic Monitoring

Seismometers detect brittle-rock earthquakes, long-period events, volcanic tremor and explosions. Scientists track
depth, magnitude, frequency and migration.

Ground Deformation

Continuous GNSS stations measure movement at the surface. Satellite radar interferometry can map uplift or
subsidence across broad parts of an island.

Volcanic Gas Monitoring

Instruments and field surveys measure sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and other gases. Changes
can indicate magma rising, degassing or interacting with groundwater.

Thermal Monitoring

Thermal cameras, satellites and direct measurements identify lava, hot vents and changing surface temperatures.

Gravity and Magnetic Measurements

Changes in gravity or magnetic fields can provide additional information about underground mass movement,
temperature and rock alteration.

Marine Monitoring

Submarine activity requires water sampling, sonar mapping, remotely operated vehicles and measurements of water
temperature, gas and chemistry.

Lava-Flow Mapping

Drones, aircraft and satellites map changing lava fronts. Updated maps help authorities identify threatened roads,
buildings and communities.

Historic Canary Islands Eruptions

Explore more major events:
Historic Volcanic Eruptions Explained.

Volcano Tourism in the Canary Islands

Volcanic landscapes are central to Canary tourism. Visitors hike across lava fields, explore craters, enter lava
tubes and travel to Teide’s high-altitude summit region.

Major destinations include:

• Teide National Park on Tenerife
• Timanfaya National Park on Lanzarote
• Caldera de Taburiente and the volcanic south of La Palma
• El Hierro’s rift landscapes and marine reserve
• Bandama Caldera on Gran Canaria
• Lava tubes and jameos on Lanzarote

Tourism Safety

• Check official alerts and weather before entering volcanic terrain.
• Respect closures, barriers and guide requirements.
• Do not walk on fresh lava or new coastal deltas.
• Avoid low areas during gas alerts.
• Carry sufficient water and sun protection.
• Prepare for cold, wind and low oxygen at Teide’s elevation.
• Do not approach vents or ocean-entry plumes for photographs.

Volcano Preparedness in the Canary Islands

Residents and visitors should understand that eruption hazards vary sharply with vent location, wind direction
and topography.

Before a Volcanic Crisis

• Know local evacuation routes and assembly points.
• Keep identification, medication and essential documents accessible.
• Prepare drinking water, food, flashlights, radios and charging equipment.
• Keep suitable particulate masks and eye protection for ashfall.
• Plan for pets, livestock, children and people needing assistance.
• Follow official monitoring sources before an emergency develops.

During an Earthquake Swarm

• Secure objects that could fall.
• Expect changing road or trail restrictions.
• Do not enter unstable caves, cliffs or abandoned structures.
• Avoid spreading unverified eruption predictions.
• Prepare to evacuate if authorities raise the operational response.

During Ashfall

• Stay indoors when possible.
• Close windows and ventilation openings.
• Wear suitable respiratory and eye protection outdoors.
• Avoid unnecessary driving.
• Protect water tanks and sensitive equipment.
• Remove ash from roofs only when safe and officially advised.

During an Evacuation

• Leave when instructed rather than waiting to see lava.
• Use official routes and destinations.
• Do not return to collect belongings after a zone is closed.
• Remember that gas, ground cracking and fires may threaten areas beyond the lava front.

Canary Islands Volcano Myths and Misinformation

Myth: Every Earthquake Swarm Means an Eruption Is Imminent

Swarms can indicate magma or fluid movement, but many intrusions stop before reaching the surface.

Myth: La Palma Is About to Fall into the Ocean

La Palma has experienced ancient collapses and remains geologically dynamic, but there is no evidence of an
imminent island-wide failure.

Myth: Teide Is a Dormant, Harmless Mountain

Teide–Pico Viejo is an active volcanic complex, although Tenerife’s most recent eruptions occurred along rift zones
rather than from Teide’s summit.

Myth: Old Islands Cannot Erupt

Lanzarote’s eighteenth- and nineteenth-century eruptions show that volcanic rejuvenation can affect an old island.

Myth: Madeira Is Part of the Same Active Magma System

Madeira and the Canaries are neighboring intraplate volcanic provinces, but modern evidence indicates distinct
mantle structures rather than one shared shallow magma system.

Frequently Asked Questions About Canary Islands Volcanoes