Volcanoes on La Palma
How La Palma rose from the Atlantic
La Palma began growing as a submarine volcanic edifice around two million years ago. Repeated eruptions piled lava and loose material layer upon layer until the young island emerged above the ocean. Fire, water, wind and enormous landslides have continued shaping it ever since.
The Canary Islands do not stand on a plate boundary, but within the African Plate. Scientists still debate exactly why magma rises here. Current models combine deep mantle upwelling with processes near the edge of the continental lithosphere. What is certain is that magma repeatedly found paths through the oceanic crust.
The older north was built by the Taburiente volcanic complex. Activity later migrated south: the Cumbre Nueva and Bejenado areas developed first, followed by the still-active Cumbre Vieja ridge. This is why every historically documented eruption on La Palma has occurred in the south.
La Palma is therefore not one volcano with a single central crater, but a volcanic edifice made up of many cones, fissures and old vents. More than a hundred visible summits and craters tell different chapters of the same long island story.
Historic eruptions: from Teneguía to Tajogaite
Eight eruptive phases have been recorded on La Palma since the fifteenth century: Montaña Quemada or Tacande, Tajuya in 1585, Martín in 1646, San Antonio in 1677-78, El Charco in 1712, San Juan in 1949, Teneguía in 1971 and the 2021 eruption. The earliest events are less precisely documented, but all occurred along Cumbre Vieja.
Teneguía erupted from 26 October to 18 November 1971. Many islanders watched from remarkably close by, but it was more than a picnic spectacle: gases, ash and lava presented genuine dangers. The flows enlarged the southern tip and created the dark landscape now seen around Fuencaliente.
New fissures opened near Cabeza de Vaca in El Paso on 19 September 2021. The mainly fissure-fed Strombolian eruption, commonly known as Tajogaite, lasted 85 days and 8 hours. It built a new cone about 200 metres high and covered parts of the Aridane Valley with lava and ash. Homes, roads, farmland and whole neighbourhoods were lost, while lava created new land along the coast.
The eruption ended on 13 December 2021, but associated effects did not all disappear immediately. Scientific networks continue to monitor earthquakes, ground movement and gases. Visitors should respect closures and designated routes around the young landscape, as terrain and access can still change.
What lies behind the megatsunami story
A 2001 study turned La Palma into the setting for a spectacular disaster story. It modelled an extreme scenario in which a very large part of the western flank of Cumbre Vieja slid into the Atlantic in one event and generated a tsunami. This was a simulation based on particularly unfavourable assumptions, not a forecast of an imminent event.
Later studies modelled smaller or multi-stage failures and found substantially less dramatic effects on distant coasts. No flank collapse occurred during the 2021 eruption either. Large landslides form part of the long-term evolution of volcanic islands, but there is no scientific evidence of an imminent megatsunami. Our older German-language Journal feature on Cumbre Vieja provides background to the debate.
Caldera de Taburiente: volcanic ruin shaped by water
Caldera de Taburiente preserves some of the oldest visible chapters of La Palma in the north. This mountain amphitheatre, about eight kilometres across, is not a simple explosion or collapse crater. Phases of volcanic construction, an enormous landslide around 560,000 years ago and relentless water erosion together created its present form.
Its walls rise almost two thousand metres above the lowest areas. The rim carries the island's highest peaks: Roque de los Muchachos at 2,426 metres, Pico de la Cruz at 2,351 metres and Pico de la Nieve at 2,236 metres. Exposed rocks reveal pillow lavas, basalt dykes and ancient volcanic plumbing.
A national park rich in endemic plants and animals extends through steep ravines, springs, waterfalls and Canary pine forest. The contrast between sheer rock walls and the green interior makes the Caldera one of the island's most impressive hiking landscapes.
Barranco de las Angustias is the Caldera's natural drainage channel. It is a classic access route in dry weather, but can carry fast-flowing water and become dangerous after heavy rain. Check weather, notices and closures before every walk. The Caldera de Taburiente National Park lists official routes.
Cumbre Nueva, Cumbre Vieja and the Volcano Route
The names can be misleading: Cumbre Nueva, the new ridge, belongs geologically to an older part of the island, while Cumbre Vieja, the old ridge, is younger and still active. Cones, craters and lava fields line up from north to south like a natural timeline.
The ridges, rising to almost two thousand metres, also divide the weather. Moist trade-wind air climbs the eastern side, cools and forms cloud, while the west can be much drier. This contrast explains why laurel forest, pines, black ash and young lava occur so close together.
The Volcano Route follows a stage of the GR 131 from Refugio del Pilar towards Fuencaliente. Clear days bring views of Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro. This long, exposed route has little shade and requires fitness, sufficient water, sun protection and clothing suited to the season.
Weather, wildfire risk or forestry work can alter or temporarily close the trail. Check its status on the official GR 131 page. News and background articles also appear in the German-language volcano section of the La Palma 24 Journal.