Cueva de las Palomas

Cueva de las Palomas

El Vidrio volcanic tube , pigeons in the background

The Cueva de las Palomas (Spanish, cave of the pigeons ) in the district of Todoque , the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane , on the Canary Island of La Palma is a lava tube that was created in the lava flow of the San Juan volcano from July 8th to 26th, 1949.

The lava tube consists of the sections Todoque I and Todoque II , which were included as a natural monument, Tubo Volcánico de Todoque in Law 12/1994 (BOCA No. 157 of December 24, 1994). With the amendment of Decree 174/2009 of the Government of the Canary Islands, the name of the Special Protection Zone (ZEC), De la Red Natura 2000 Tubo Volcánico de Todoque, was changed to Malpaís de Las Manchas y Cueva de Las Palomas .

The Cueva de las Palomas (560 + 157.5 meters long) is one of the more than 100 lava tubes on La Palma, with the Cueva Honda del Bejenado in the municipality of El Paso being the longest lava tube at 1,362 meters.

Lava tubes in the San Juan lava field

The eruption of the San Juan volcano took place on the ridge of the Cumbre Vieja at three eruption points staggered in time. One of them was the fissure opening at the Llano del Banco plain at 1,300 meters above sea level (also known as the Llano del Banco volcano ), from which a large lava flow poured over the western flank of the Cumbre Vieja to the sea and there a 6 × 3.5 km large lava platform in the sea. Today, in addition to large banana plantations, the La Bombilla settlement and the Faro de Punta Lava lighthouse are located there . Several lava tubes had formed in the extensive lava field:

Surname	Code 1 )	Length / m /	Terrain height / m above sea level M. /	Accesses	comment
Cueva de Johannes Sprunk	LLA-	37.7			By human intervention z. T. destroyed.
Cueva Lávico Las Manchas	LLA-12	50
Cueva Pequeña Sima	LLA-13	6th
Cueva El Vidrio	LLA-14	15th		2
Cueva de Todoque I	LLA-01	560	564	12	Natural monument ²)
Cueva de Todoque II	LLA-04	157.5	485	1	Natural monument ²)
Cueva Verde	LLA-07	42	490	1	Cavities up to 10 m in size
Cueva Hoyo de las Norias I	LLA-09	38	365	1	By human intervention z. T. destroyed.
Cueva Hoyo de las Norias II	LLA-10	40	350		20 m gallery
Cueva de la Terraza de Verano	TZ-03	49	180	1
Cueva La Muralla	TZ-04	44	170		The cave is under the road that leads to Puerto Naos
Cueva La Murga	LLA-	68.4	15th		Water penetrating from the irrigation of the banana plantations

1 ) Official coding of the lava tubes on La Palma since 1997.
Location of the lava tubes in the municipalities: LLA: Los Llanos , TZ: Tazacorte

²) The formerly connected lava tube Cueva de las Palomas was separated into the Todoque I and II sections by the construction of the LP-211 road.

The first topographical surveys of the lava tubes took place in 1987 by the University of La Laguna , the results of which were published in 1996. In 1998 the entrance of the Todoque I lava tube was discovered. In the following years, further sections of different lengths along the entire course of the lava tube were identified.

The entrance to the Todoque I lava tube consists of a large hollow and is located in the extensive lava field of the Llano del Banco volcano between the towns of Todoque and Las Manchas , on the LP-211 road. The collapse basin is called Jameo in Spanish and means in the Guanche language, cavity or depression in the ground. The lava tube is shaped very differently and consists of z. T. 3 - 4 meter high walls, wide halls and narrow passages as well as flat sections and steep descents.

Lava field of the Llano del Banco volcano , visitor center (under construction), in the upper picture the lava flow of the volcano.
Llano del Banco volcano lava field

Llano del Banco volcano lava field

Access to the Cueva de las Palomas lava tube

Entry to the Cueva de las Palomas lava tube

El Vidrio lava tube

Mechanism of formation of lava tubes

The formation mechanism of the lava tube is assumed as follows: In the vicinity of the eruption site of the volcano, the lava initially flows down in open channels in the terrain, whereby the lava differs through contact with the surrounding rock at the bottom and through contact with the air at the edges cools down and freezes. Due to the slow cooling of the lava flow at its edges, the lava there becomes more viscous and side walls are formed that grow higher and higher and finally cover the lava flow. The greater the slope of the terrain, the easier it is for a channel to form, which ultimately leads to a lava tunnel. The maximum flow speed of the lava flow of the Llano del Banco volcano is given as 37 km / h.

Habitat of the lava tubes

Stalactites in the El Vidrio lava tube

Small stalactites sometimes grow out of the ceilings of the lava tubes , which crystallize out of the seeping rainwater, which previously loosened the minerals in the rock on its way through the lava. This is probably gypsum (CaSO4. 2H2O) or calcite (CaCO3).

A special fauna of invertebrates has developed in the lava tubes, which have adapted to hypogeal life. By law 12/1987 this area was declared a particularly protected natural area of the Canary Islands and by law 12/1994 a nature reserve of the Canary Islands. This space also forms a unique subterranean landscape with special features that make the island complex more varied.

Several lava tubes serve as refuge and nesting places for pigeons, rabbits, Canarian dogs, lizards, bats, goats and cockroaches, accordingly there are collections of pigeon droppings, snail shells of the Hemicycla species and skeletons of the aforementioned species.

Visitor center and access to the lava tubes

Visitor center in the lava field

In the lava field of the Llano del Banco volcano , the visitor center Centro de interpretation de las cavidades volcanicas Canos de Fuege was built in 2017 and opened in April 2019. Below the building there is access to a walkable section of an approximately 15-meter-long El Vidrio lava tube .

A walkable metal walkway was laid across an extensive lava field from the visitor center to the entrance to the Cueva de las Palomas lava tube , which enables the various forms of the lava flow to be viewed.