Timanfaya National Park
| Timanfaya National Park | |||
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| Location: | Canary Islands , Spain | ||
| Specialty: | Young volcanic area | ||
| Next city: | Yaiza | ||
| Surface: | 5,107 ha | ||
| Founding: | August 9, 1974 | ||
| Visitors: | 1,549,003 (2011) | ||
The Timanfaya National Park ( Spanish Parque Nacional de Timanfaya ) on the Canary Island of Lanzarote was declared the eighth national park in Spain in 1974 . It is also known as the Montañas del Fuego (Fire Mountains).
General
The approximately 845 km² island of Lanzarote is three-quarters covered with lava , spewed out of at least 300 craters by around 100 volcanoes . The eruptive material from the eruptions lasting almost six years from September 1, 1730 to April 16, 1736 covered about 167 km² of Lanzarote. The Timanfaya National Park in the southwest of the island extends over 51.07 km², from the local boundary of Yaiza to the Montaña Timanfaya ; the western border forms the coastline. At that time 32 volcanic cones were formed here. These eruptions in the 18th century were the most significant in the history of volcanism , not only because of the large amount of expelled material but also because of their long duration . In addition to the outbreaks on land, there were numerous seaquakes.
The locals were convinced that the Virgen de los Volcanes would have stopped the lava flow at Montaña de Guiguan in 1736 and thus spared the surrounding villages. They therefore promised to build her a chapel. It was not until 1781 that the poor population was able to complete the small chapel Ermita de los Dolores in Mancha Blanca . When the area was spared again during the next volcanic eruptions in 1824, this was interpreted as a repetition of the miracle. The figure of the Virgin, which was previously housed in the church in Tinajo , was finally placed in the Ermita de los Dolores chapel in 1862 .
The national park can be reached via well-developed roads. They were created in 1950 to visit General Franco . A 14 kilometer round trip can only be undertaken by bus. From the 350 meter high Montaña Rajada you get an overview of most of the Timanfaya National Park. The large area occupied by the lava sea today was part of the most fertile part of Lanzarote before the eruptions. After the disaster, eight million cubic meters of lava lay where small towns and individual farms had previously existed; a total of about 420 houses were destroyed. The villages destroyed were Timanfaya , Los Rodeos , Mancha Blanca , Santa Catalina , Mazo , Jarretas , Tingafa , Peña Palomas , Testeina , La Geria , Macintafe , Mozaga , Guagaro , Masdache and Iguadén , as well as the estates of Maretas and Chupaderos .
The volcanoes that make up Timanfaya National Park belong to what is known as the Hawaii Group. At great heights, these form huge columns of ash, the lapilli , which, when carried by the wind, have covered large areas and slopes of old craters. These areas formed by the ash rain are called Valle de la Tranquilidad (Valley of Peace). The center of the eruption was on the Maciso del Fuego (Fire Massif), which towers 525 meters high. This volcano is covered in cinder and ash that came from the eruptions of the 18th century. However, it was found that the ridge, which still emits enormous heat radiation, consists of very old lava, belonging to the old Timanfaya mountain . The frequent rows of small ovens (hornitos) and parasite volcanoes , so named because they formed at the foot of a central colossus, are interesting . The imposing cinder cone Caldera del Corazoncillo has a crater , the depth of which extends about 100 meters below the surface of the area. The lava from this volcano buried the village of Timanfaya in 1730 .
Only very slowly has some vegetation formed again on the resulting Malpaís (poor land) . One can spot lichens or small succulents and many low thorny shrubs called aulaga majorera in some places . This shrub is used by the park administration to demonstrate the high temperature of the soil in the area of Islote de Hilario . The dry branches stuffed into a hole in the ground immediately burst into flames. In another demonstration, water is poured into a pipe sunk vertically into the ground. As the temperature a few meters below the surface of the earth is over 400 ° C, an explosive steam fountain arises. West of the main crater of Montaña del Fuego , the temperature at a depth of 27 meters is around 700 ° C. The Islote de Hilario was named after the man named Hilario, who, according to legend, lived like a hermit on this rocky island for over half a century, without anyone other than his camel. It is said that Hilario planted a fig tree that, although it took root, never bore fruit because the flower could not feed on flames. Here César Manrique built the round El Diablo ( The Devil ) restaurant with a hotplate over a hot hole in the ground. About 1.5 kilometers away is one of the three research laboratories of the Geodynamic Laboratory Lanzarote in the Casa de Los Camelleros (formerly the house of the camel drivers) . An eyewitness to the eruptions that lasted almost six years in the 18th century, the pastor of Yaiza , Don Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo , recorded his impressions in handwriting. On the slope of the Montaña de la Cinta in Yaiza there is a memorial plaque erected in 1990, which reminds of the severe volcanic eruptions of that time. It is dedicated to the pastor of Yaiza at the time.
Eyewitness report from the pastor of Yaiza
A somewhat abbreviated reproduction of the handwritten notes of the pastor of Yaiza at the time, Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo :
... On September 1, 1730, between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m., the earth suddenly opened at Timanfaya, two leagues from Yaiza. A huge mountain formed the first night, and flames shot from its top that continued to burn for 19 days. A few days later a new chasm broke open and the lava flow poured over Timanfaya, Rodeo and part of Mancha Blanca . The lava flowed northwards, at first like bubbling water, later as viscous as honey. But on September 7th, a huge rock rose from the depths with ominous thunder, forcing the lava to turn its flow west and north-west. There she destroyed the towns of Maretas and Santa Catalina. On September 11th, the violence of the lava was renewed. It covered and burned the village of Mazo and then fell into the sea for eight days as a fiery cataract with a terrible roar, so that dead fish floated in huge numbers on the surface or were thrown onto the shore. After that everything calmed down and the eruptions stopped. However, on October 18th, three new chasms broke out directly over the burned Santa Catalina, from which heavy clouds of smoke poured out, which spread over the whole island. They carried loads of ash and sand with them, and thick drops of water fell everywhere. The resulting darkness, ashes and smoke, displaced the inhabitants of Yaiza and the surrounding area several times. But they returned when the eruptions were no longer followed by any more eruptions. On October 28th, when these events had lasted ten days, cattle fell dead across the region, suffocated by the stinking mist. From November 1st to 20th, smoke and ashes broke out of the craters incessantly and on the 27th a lava flow rolled down the slopes with enormous speed. On December 1st it reached the sea and formed a freezing island. On December 16, the lava suddenly changed its course, no longer flowed into the sea, but buried the village of Chupadero and destroyed the fertile plain of Uga . On January 7th, 1731 there were new eruptions that destroyed the earlier craters. Lava erupted from two openings, accompanied by thick clouds of smoke in which red and blue flashes raged. In addition, it thundered like a thunderstorm, which was very frightening for the residents, as they had no thunderstorms on their island. On January 10, a high mountain towered up and collapsed on the same day. Stones and ashes rained on the island and lava flows over the Malpaís into the sea. On March 7th, several volcanoes formed, which rose in a row from east to west. On June 4th, three craters opened at once in the Timanfaya region. They quickly combined into a single volcanic cone, from which a lava flow flowed into the sea. Ashes and lightning shot out of a side crater, and white steam escaped from another like never before seen. At the end of June, all the coasts on the west side of the island were covered with huge numbers of dead fish, many of which had never been known. To the northwest of Yaiza, smoke and flames rose from the sea with violent detonations. New eruptions disturbed residents in October and November. On December 25th the strongest of all earthquakes was felt, and on December 28th a lava flow shot out of a newly formed cone, destroying another village and a chapel near Yaiza ...
At this point the priest's chronological notes break off. Curbelo could probably no longer stay in the seriously threatened Yaiza; he fled to Gran Canaria with many other islanders . The eruptions were supposed to continue for another five years.
Last eruption in 1824
The last volcanic eruptions on the island so far took place in 1824. On July 31, the eruption of the Clérigo Duarte volcano began . The eruption fissure was over 14 kilometers long. At Punte del Cochino , a six-kilometer-long mass of lava rolled into the sea. Numerous medium-strength earthquakes had preceded it for 10 years . The peculiarities of this eruption were the thinness of the lava and the enormous columns of boiling salt water that pounded out of the craters and flooded the area. The last of the lava flows threatened the village of Mancha Blanca. In their distress, the residents of Mancha Blanca borrowed the statue of the Virgen de los Dolores from the church in Tinajo . With that they went in a procession towards the glowing lava. The miracle happened: shortly before the first house in town, the lava cooled down. Today there is a wooden cross at this point. This day is still regularly celebrated with a procession.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Spanish Ministry of the Environment: Evolución del número de visitantes ( Memento of the original from June 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- World Database on Protected Areas - Timanfaya National Park (English)
- Information on Timanfaya, geology, flora, fauna (Spanish)
- Lanzarote in the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution (English)
- A. Aparicio, ea: Metasedimentary xenoliths in the lavas of Timanfaya eruption, 1730-36, Lanzarote, Canary Islands: metamorphism and contamination processes. Geol. Mag. 143 (2), Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006 (PDF file, English; 3.5 MB)
- The eruptions in the 18th century (PDF file, Spanish; 330 kB)
