La Palma, Islas Canarias
Today we spent our first of two days in the Canary Islands. We spent the afternoon visiting several important volcanic sites in the island of La Palma. La Palma is the most geologically active of the Canary Islands, having last erupted in 1971 at the southern tip in a small crater called Teneguia. The most spectacular crater on the island, however, and that which makes up about one third of the island is the great Caldera de Taburiente. This caldera is 8 km across and 2 km deep, making one of the largest in the world. We walked down a trail in the National Park which was established to protect the crater and its flora and fauna to a miradoro which gave us a lovely view from about halfway down the caldera wall. We walked through a forest of the beautiful Canary Island pines (Pinus canariensis) as the clouds collected above us to form a lid over the caldera depression. On the north side of the caldera rim is the Roque de los Muchachos solar observatory operated by several European research teams.
Later we drove down to the very nice interpretive center of the Park and after that to a bodega in Los Llanos for a taste of the local wine and smoked goat cheese. Then it was back to the volcanoes as we visited the site of the lava of the San Juan eruption which occurred on the feast of San Juan (June 24) in 1949. The lava, which spills for several miles down the side of the island from the crest to the sea, still looks fresh after 55 years and reminded us again, as if there was any need, of the tremendous forces at work beneath the surface of the Earth. As James Hutton, the father of modern geology wrote in 1788, “…we are not to limit nature with our imbecility, or estimate the power of nature by the measure of our own.” Today’s views impressed upon us all once again the value of this advice.
Today we spent our first of two days in the Canary Islands. We spent the afternoon visiting several important volcanic sites in the island of La Palma. La Palma is the most geologically active of the Canary Islands, having last erupted in 1971 at the southern tip in a small crater called Teneguia. The most spectacular crater on the island, however, and that which makes up about one third of the island is the great Caldera de Taburiente. This caldera is 8 km across and 2 km deep, making one of the largest in the world. We walked down a trail in the National Park which was established to protect the crater and its flora and fauna to a miradoro which gave us a lovely view from about halfway down the caldera wall. We walked through a forest of the beautiful Canary Island pines (Pinus canariensis) as the clouds collected above us to form a lid over the caldera depression. On the north side of the caldera rim is the Roque de los Muchachos solar observatory operated by several European research teams.
Later we drove down to the very nice interpretive center of the Park and after that to a bodega in Los Llanos for a taste of the local wine and smoked goat cheese. Then it was back to the volcanoes as we visited the site of the lava of the San Juan eruption which occurred on the feast of San Juan (June 24) in 1949. The lava, which spills for several miles down the side of the island from the crest to the sea, still looks fresh after 55 years and reminded us again, as if there was any need, of the tremendous forces at work beneath the surface of the Earth. As James Hutton, the father of modern geology wrote in 1788, “…we are not to limit nature with our imbecility, or estimate the power of nature by the measure of our own.” Today’s views impressed upon us all once again the value of this advice.
