83-732: Abora is the name of an ancestral solar deity of La Palma ( Canary Islands ) and a traditional god of the Guanches . Abora ( Ibru ) is the name of the supreme being of the religion of the Guanches on the island of La Palma . In Guanche mythology of the island of Tenerife , the supreme god was called Achamán . This article relating to an African myth or legend is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . La Palma La Palma ( Spanish: [la ˈpalma] , local pronunciation: [lɐ ˈpɑ(l)mɐ] ), also known as La isla bonita (English: The Beautiful Island ) and historically San Miguel de La Palma ,
166-530: A " sister city " relationship with El Dorado Hills, California . The local economy is primarily based on agriculture and tourism. Bananas are grown throughout the island with many banana farms on the western side of the island in Los Llanos de Aridane. Other crops include bird of paradise flowers, oranges, avocados and grapes. Local ranchers raise cattle, sheep and goats. Fishermen operating from Santa Cruz de La Palma, Tazacorte, and Puerto Naos catch fish for
249-467: A hole at the top of the hat to allow them to see out, while giving the appearance of dancing midgets. People come from all over the world for the celebration which happens every five years. The image of the Virgin is taken down from her sanctuary (located in a hilly area on the outskirts of Santa Cruz de La Palma ) and paraded around the city of Santa Cruz with the festival lasting nearly two weeks before she
332-553: A massive terminal inflorescence . Echium webbii , a branched shrub with several smaller, dark blue flower spikes, is another island endemic with close relatives on Tenerife. Other La Palma endemics include members of the daisy family , such as Sonchus palmensis , Argyranthemum haouarytheum Pericallis papyracea and Cheirolophus sventenii . Several animals are native or endemic to La Palma, including the: In addition, many other animals have been introduced, including rabbits and Barbary sheep , or aoudads, which have become
415-516: A normal process where a volcano sheds some proportion of excess material and thereby makes itself more stable. It is also known to occur on all volcanoes based on the land, in or under the sea. Moore (1964) was the first geologist to interpret such features depicted on a United States Navy bathymetric chart . The chart showed two features that seem to originate from the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Molokai . Moss et al. (1999) reported that
498-443: A ring of mountains ranging from 1,600 m (5,249 ft) to 2,400 m (7,874 ft) in height. On its northern side is the exposed remains of the original seamount . Only the deep Barranco de las Angustias ("Ravine of Anxiety") ravine leads into the inner area of the caldera, which is a national park. It can be reached only by hiking. The outer slopes are cut by numerous gorges which run from 2,000 m (6,562 ft) down to
581-477: A serious threat to endemic flora A biosphere reserve was established in 1983, and extended and renamed in 1997 and 2002. The official natural symbols associated with La Palma are the red-billed chough ( graja ) and Pinus canariensis (Canary Island pine). At the time of European colonization, the Canary Islands were inhabited by native Canarians, referred to collectively as Guanches , although
664-400: A so-called mega-tsunami. The debris will continue to travel along the ocean floor as a debris flow . Computer modelling indicates that the resulting initial wave may attain a local amplitude (height) in excess of 600 metres (2,000 ft) and an initial peak-to-peak height that approximates to 2 kilometres (1 mi), and travel at about 720 kilometres per hour (450 mph) (approximately
747-484: A volcanic collapse happened subsequently to this paper in 2018 at Anak Krakatoa ). Approximately 5 x 10 m (6.5 x 10 cu yd) of material—about two orders of magnitude less than the claimed mass of the Cumbre Vieja—generated a landslide which entered the ocean and generated a westerly-directed tsunami. The tsunami inundated adjoining islands and may have killed several hundred people. According to Cooke, damage
830-453: Is a result of the volcanic formation of the island. The highest peaks reach over 2,400 m (7,874 ft) above sea level, and the base of the island is located almost 4,000 m (13,123 ft) below sea level. The northern part of La Palma is dominated by the Caldera de Taburiente , with a width of 9 km (6 mi) and a depth of 1,500 m (4,921 ft). It is surrounded by
913-547: Is a true story—only it hasn't happened yet!" Day et al. (1999), Ward and Day (2001) and Ward and Day (2005) hypothesize that, during an eruption at some future date, the western half of the Cumbre Vieja—approximately 500 km (5 x 10 m ) with an estimated mass of 1.5 trillion metric tons—will catastrophically fail in a massive gravitational landslide and enter the Atlantic Ocean , generating
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#1732764686264996-469: Is active, last erupting in the 2021 La Palma eruption , which destroyed more than 2600 buildings and caused one death. Beyond Punta de Fuencaliente at the southern tip of the island, the Cumbre Vieja continues in a southerly direction as a submarine volcano . Like all of the Canary Islands, La Palma originally formed as a seamount through submarine volcanic activity. Along with Tenerife, La Palma
1079-679: Is an active volcanic ridge on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands , Spain . The spine of Cumbre Vieja trends in an approximate north–south direction, comprising the southern half of La Palma, with both summit ridge and flanks pockmarked by dozens of craters and cones . The latest eruption began on 19 September 2021 in a forested area of Las Manchas locality known as Cabeza de Vaca. Voluminous lava flows quickly reached populated areas downslope, fanning out across settlements and banana plantations , destroying thousands of buildings and ultimately pouring over steep cliffs into
1162-561: Is far more exposed to marine air systems than easterly islands, caused by the Canary Current . As altitude increases moving inland, the climate becomes cooler and more humid, which provides conditions for laurisilva cloud forests to occur, such as the one in the Natural Park of Bosque de los Tiles. The island is part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife . The island is divided into 14 municipalities: La Palma has
1245-431: Is in response to evolving stress patterns associated with the development of a possible detachment fault under the volcano's west flank. Siebert (1984) showed that such failures are due to the intrusion of parallel and sub-parallel dykes into a rift. This causes the flanks to become over-steep and this inevitably causes the structure of the volcano to become unstable to the point that catastrophic failure may occur. There
1328-408: Is no evidence beyond its surface expression that the 1949 section of the rift extends in a north–south direction, nor that there is a developing detachment plane. Research is ongoing. The only contemporaneous account of the eruption was published in 1950 by one of the scientists—Juan Bonelli-Rubio who witnessed the eruption first hand and recorded details of the various phenomena that occurred during
1411-617: Is predominately Roman Catholic and since 1676, has been known for the festival of Fiestas Lustrales de la Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves (the bringing down of the Virgin of the Snow , Virgen de las Nieves ), which has a rich history, from the time of the Bishop of the Canaries, Bartolomé García Ximénez. The festival features the dancing of "enanos" or midgets. The costumes that people wear have
1494-518: Is prevalent in the northern coast and in the mid to high altitudes of the island. At lower altitudes, particularly at the south and southwest coasts, the climate becomes semi-arid ( Köppen : BSh ). Average temperatures at the coast vary from 18 °C (64 °F) in January and February to 24 °C (75 °F) in August and September. For a Canary island, the weather is quite cloudy, as La Palma
1577-415: Is returned. The last time this event was performed in 2015 and the next will be in 2025, as in 2020 had to be cancelled due to the global pandemic of COVID-19. The Virgin of the Snow is the patron saint of La Palma. Many women on the island have the name "Nieves" in her honor. Every 5 August the annual festival of the Virgin is celebrated. La Palma has a road network of some 1,200 km (746 mi). All
1660-408: Is that when Rubio Bonelli visited the rift the following day, the newly opened fissure "... Was not issuing fumes, vapour, steam, ashes, lava or other materials ..." In fact at no time during or after was steam or phreatomagmatic activity reported. This reinforces the claim that the waters trapped within the edifice never vapourised, which they would do if the pressure had fallen sufficiently to allow
1743-788: Is the Roque de los Muchachos , at 2,426 metres (7,959 ft), being second among the peaks of the Canaries after the Teide massif on Tenerife . In 1815, the German geologist Leopold von Buch visited the Canary Islands. It was as a result of his visit to Tenerife, where he visited the Las Cañadas caldera, and then later to La Palma, where he visited the Taburiente caldera, that the Spanish word for cauldron or large cooking pot – " caldera " –
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#17327646862641826-679: Is the most northwesterly island of the Canary Islands , Spain , which is a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean . La Palma has an area of 708.32 square kilometres (273.48 sq mi) making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The total population at the start of 2023 was 84,338, of which 15,522 lived in the capital, Santa Cruz de La Palma and 20,375 in Los Llanos de Aridane . Its highest mountain
1909-416: Is the most volcanically active of the Canary Islands. Its base lies almost 4,000 m (13,123 ft) below sea level and reaches a height of 2,426 m (7,959 ft) above sea level. About a half a million years ago, the Taburiente volcano collapsed with a giant landslide , forming the Caldera de Taburiente . Erosion has since exposed part of the old seamount in the northern part of the caldera. Since
1992-672: Is why in Spanish texts the eruption is referred to as la erupción del Nambroque o San Juan , which in English is "The Eruption of the Nambroque of St John's volcano." During the 1949 eruption, eruptive activity was located at three vents—Duraznero, Llano del Banco, and Hoyo Negro—mild strombolian activity occurred at the Duraznero vent. Lava was erupted from the Llano del Banco vents, whilst only mild phreatomagmatic emissions occurred at
2075-538: The Modified Mercalli Scale . Visits to the summit region revealed a crack about 1.5 km (~1 mile) long which extended in a northerly direction from the Hoyo Negro ("Black Hole") and about 1 km (~0.5-mile) south to the Duraznero vent making a total length of about 2.5 km (~1.6-mile), (this crack is the subject of research and heated debate as to whether it indicates initial failure of
2158-544: The Atlantic and inundate much of the eastern seaboard of North America, and many of the islands in the Caribbean and northern coasts of South America between six and eight hours later. They estimate that such a tsunami could have waves possibly 50 m (164 ft) or higher causing massive devastation along the coastlines. Modelling suggests that the tsunami could inundate up to 25 km (16 mi) inland. The claim
2241-526: The Canary Islands archipelago, is a volcanic ocean island. The volcano rises almost 7 km (4 mi) above the floor of the Atlantic Ocean . There is road access from sea level to the summit at 2,426 m (7,959 ft), which is marked by an outcrop of rocks called Roque de Los Muchachos ("Rock of the Young Men"). This is the site of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory , one of the world's premier astronomical observatories. La Palma's geography
2324-459: The Duraznero and Llano del Banco vents—to mildly explosive at the Hoyo Negro vent and was strombolian in style. It is classed as having a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 2. The process creating the earthquakes of 1 and 2 July is considered to have been driven by the pressure caused by the rising magma super-heating water trapped within the edifice of the volcano. It is unlikely that
2407-533: The Güimar Valle on Tenerife ~830 ka and generating a tsunami. They indicate that this collapse is the only plausible source, and also report that there is no indication that the tsunami propagated beyond Gran Canaria. These deposits date from between 32,000 and 1,750,000 years ago. Scientists at TU Delft in the Netherlands reported in 2006, that the section of the western flank of the Cumbre Vieja that
2490-700: The Hawaiian Islands draw distinctions between the tsunami wave periods caused by landslides and subduction-zone earthquakes, arguing that a similar collapse in Hawaii would not endanger Asian or North American coastlines. Sonar surveys around many volcanic ocean islands including the Canary Islands , Hawaii , Réunion etc., have mapped debris flows on the sea floor. Many of these debris flows, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) long and up to 2 kilometres (1.24 mi) thick, contain mega-blocks mixed up with finer detritus. The debris flows are now considered to be
2573-432: The Hoyo Negro vent. Then on 30 July—the last day of eruptive activity, lava was erupted at the Duraznero fissure and vent. During the eruption on 1 and 2 July, two strong earthquakes with an estimated intensity of VIII on the Modified Mercalli Scale also occurred, the epicentre was calculated to be near Jedey. Following the earthquakes a fracture was noted and it had a length of approximately one and half kilometres. It
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2656-517: The Spanish have kept records, there have been eight eruptions – all of which have occurred on the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge: At Cumbre Vieja ridge a new monogenetic volcano burst on 19 September 2021 after several seismic crises that rocked the island, among other anomalies regarding volcanic surveillance. At 85 days, it is the longest known and the most damaging volcanic eruption on La Palma since records began. The total damage caused by
2739-402: The absence of monitoring equipment, the only reports are those recorded in the media. Then at about 09:00 (local time) on 24 June 1949, the Duraznero vent opened with mildly explosive activity, venting of gases, and rocks; with eruptive activity continuing in this manner until 6 July. During this phase a strong earthquake occurred on 1 July and again on 2 July with an estimated intensity of VIII on
2822-414: The alpine/subalpine habitats present only in these two islands. Like Tenerife, La Palma also has its own alpine violet, Viola palmensis . Echium pininana is endemic to La Palma and the tallest species in the genus, reaching over 4 m. It is related to Echium wildpretii which occurs, with separate subspecies, in the subalpine zone of both Tenerife and La Palma. Both species are monocarpic , producing
2905-473: The archipelago in 1312 and remained for two decades until expelled by a native uprising. In 1404 the Spaniards began the conquest of the islands. Though the first landing on La Palma was in 1405, it took until 1493 and several bloody battles until the last resistance of the natives was broken. The conqueror of La Palma was Alonso Fernández de Lugo , who defeated Tanausu , the last king on the island. He ruled
2988-527: The area known as Acero (Caldera de Taburiente). Tanausu was ambushed after agreeing to a truce arranged by Fernández de Lugo and Juan de Palma, a Guanche who had converted to Christianity and who was a relative of Tanausu. For the next two centuries, settlements on La Palma became rich as the island served as a trading post on the way to the New World . La Palma received immigrants from Castile , Majorca , Andalusia , Portugal and Catalonia . The island
3071-543: The barranco (ravine), forming a series of en echelon (diagonally side by side), vents. On 10 July the westward flow of lava from the Llano del Banco vents reached the coast at Puerto de Naos and entered the Atlantic Ocean, forming a lava delta, the velocity is estimated at ~14 metres (approximately 46 feet) per sec. On 12 July mildly explosive activity commenced at the Hoyo Negro (Black Hole) with emissions of rocks, fumes and some phreatomagmatic activity indicating that
3154-412: The city of Santa Cruz de La Palma and the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria. The minas galerias (water tunnels) carry water from sources in the highlands to towns, villages and farms. La Palma receives almost all of its water from the mar de nubes ( sea of clouds ) of the northeast trade winds . The water condenses on the vegetation, from where it runs into the ground. Eventually it collects inside
3237-412: The eruption along with the development of the crack. That the water entrapped within the edifice did not vapourise is shown by the absence of phreatomagmatic explosions except the mildly explosive eruptive activity that occurred at the Hoyo Negro vent from 12 to 22 July: steam escaping explosively from the ground is often a precursor of volcanic activity. Further evidence that vapourisation did not occur
3320-433: The eruption had encountered ground waters. Activity at the Hoyo Negro ceased on 22 July, but continued at the Llano del Banco vents until 26 July. Only residual fumarolic activity and thermal emissions then occurred until 30 July when the Duraznero vent and fissure re-activated. Lava then flowed from the Duraznero vent and fissure, filling the adjacent crater of El Fraile and created a lava lake. This subsequently overflowed and
3403-563: The eruption. A total of around 7,000 people were evacuated from the area. The eruption stopped on 13 December 2021, and was declared to be over on 25 December 2021. The role of Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction of the island of La Palma was created in 2022 to coordinate and promote the actions adopted by the General State Administration to repair the damage caused by volcanic eruptions and for
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3486-428: The eruption. All other published accounts are based upon Bonelli-Rubio's observations. The next report regarding the eruption was a joint publication by Ortiz and Bonelli-Rubio published in 1951. This drew heavily on Bonelli-Rubio's observations and also analysis of various phenomena associated with the eruption. Both accounts are published in Spanish. The eruption started on 24 June 1949, the feast day of St John, which
3569-561: The event could inundate up to 25 kilometres (16 mi) inland. If the model is correct, then this scale of inundation would greatly damage or destroy cities along the entire North American eastern seaboard, including Boston , New York City , Miami and many other cities near the Atlantic coast. There is controversy about the threat presented by the Cumbre Vieja. Current indications are that recent landslides may have been gradual and therefore may not generate tsunamis unless they increase in magnitude. Studies of possible local 'mega-tsunamis' in
3652-544: The failure of the western flank of the Cumbre Vieja would be unlikely to generate a "mega-tsunami". Pérez-Torrado et al. (2006) indicate that marine deposits located between 41 and 188 metres (135 and 617 ft) above sea level in the Agaete Valley of Gran Canaria resulted, when ~3 x 10 m (3.9 x 10 cu yd)—one order of magnitude less than that of models of Day et al. ; (1999), Ward and Day, (2001); and Ward and Day, (2005), —of volcanic material collapsed, forming
3735-448: The flanks to become sufficiently high and unstable to cause a massive collapse. A 2008 paper looked into the worst-case scenario of a massive landslide and subsequent megatsunami. The authors concluded that waves could reach heights in the range 10 to 188 meters in the Canary Islands, but that the waves would dissipate as they radiated out into the Atlantic Ocean. They predict 40 meters height for some nearby island systems. For continents,
3818-437: The fracture is still visible and still has the same dimensions recorded in 1949. The timeline for the eruption, according to Bonelli-Rubio, is as follows: The first reported seismic activity was noted on the southern rim of the Caldera de Taburiente on 23 July 1936 at about 23:30 (11.30 pm) local time, with further activity noted over the next two days. During the following years periodic seismic activity occurred, but due to
3901-579: The island, any claims about seismic activity are based upon personal observation and may not be reliable. The 1971 eruption occurred at the southern end of the Cumbre Vieja at the Teneguía vent. The eruption was mainly strombolian in style. Lava was erupted. Seismic activity did occur before and during the 1971 eruption but was not on the scale associated with the 1949 eruption. Residual thermal emissions continue. An earthquake swarm started under Cumbre Vieja on 11 September 2021. It slowly migrated to
3984-412: The island. The Canary Island pine is found on all of the western Canary Islands, but it is particularly abundant on La Palma. The pine forests are also home to two recently discovered and extremely rare La Palma endemics: Lotus eremiticus and L. pyranthus . Cytisus supranubius , a white-flowered broom known locally as Retama del Teide, is native to La Palma and Tenerife, being restricted to
4067-443: The lava flowed down the eastern flank towards the ocean. It finally stopped about 30m (about 100 feet) from the ocean. Also later, on 30 July all eruptive activity ceased and only residual fumarolic activity continued until 4 August; thereafter there was only thermal emissions. It is estimated that approximately 60 million cubic metres of lava was erupted during the eruption. The eruption style ranged from effusive—mildly explosive at
4150-489: The local markets. La Palma has abundant plant life, including several endemic species. Although large areas have been deforested , the upland areas of La Palma retain much of the evergreen laurel forest , where species of Lauraceae , such as Laurus azorica , Persea indica , and Ocotea foetens are a characteristic component. This is a relictual population of the Pliocene subtropical forests which used to cover
4233-418: The main roads are asphalted and in a good state, although there are many sharp bends, some very narrow. In order to reach some small hamlets in the north of the island it is necessary to travel on unpaved roads. A good paved road approximately 180 km (112 mi), circumscribes the island. Several bus routes exist that unite the main settlements on the island. A road crosses the island from Tazacorte on
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#17327646862644316-436: The model used by Day et al. (1999), Ward and Day (2001), and Ward and Day (2005) is wrong. They caution about the claims made by Day et al. and Ward and Day, stating that there is no evidence of a mega-tsunami having been generated by volcanic edifice failure. Ward and Day (2003) reported on the only documented flank collapse of a volcanic island at that time— Ritter Island , that occurred on 13 March 1888 (a tsunami from
4399-463: The most volcanically active of the Canary Islands. Since about 125,000 years ago (~125 ka ), all subaerial eruptions on La Palma have been associated with the Cumbre Vieja, with eruptions ranging over the whole 25-kilometre-long ridge. Submarine surveys show that the Cumbre Vieja continues south of Punta de Fuencaliente (the "Point of the Hot Source"), but no volcanic activity connected with
4482-587: The mountains. After the Spanish occupation of La Palma, the native Canarians vanished by either being killed, sold into slavery or by assimilating into the Spanish population. It is believed that the Canary Islands were known to the Phoenicians and Greeks , but the earliest written evidence is by the Roman writer Pliny The Elder , who quoted Juba II of Numidia , but Juba's writings were subsequently lost. The Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello reached
4565-518: The natives of La Palma are more correctly known as Auaritas (See Canary Islands in pre-colonial times ). The origin of these natives is unclear but they are believed to share common ancestry with the Berbers of North Africa. The Guanches had a Neolithic culture divided into several clans led by chiefs. Their name for La Palma was Benahoare . The main remnants of this culture are their cave dwellings, enigmatic petroglyphs and paved stone paths through
4648-604: The observatories with a clear sky. Often, the view from the top of the volcano is a sea of clouds covering the eastern part of the island. Telescopes at the observatory include: In addition, the Cherenkov Telescope Array is planned for construction starting in 2021. In December 2021 the Roque de Los Muchachos Visitor Centre was inaugurated. Cumbre Vieja The Cumbre Vieja ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkumbɾe ˈβjexa] ; meaning "Old Summit")
4731-464: The ocean to enlarge the island at several locations. The volcano went quiet on 13 December 2021, and on 25 December 2021, the local government declared the eruption to be over. Cumbre Vieja erupted twice in the 20th century, in 1949 (Volcán San Juan) and in 1971 ( Volcán Teneguía ). La Palma is a volcanic ocean island located on the African Plate and is currently—along with Tenerife —one of
4814-648: The present day geology). They find wave heights in the range 10 to 188 metres (33 to 617 ft) in the Canary Isles themselves. But the waves interfere and dissipate as they head out into the Atlantic. They predict a height of 40 metres (131 ft) for some nearby island systems. For continents, the worst effects are in northern Brazil (13.6 metres (45 ft)), French Guiana (12.7 metres (42 ft)), Mid-Atlantic United States (9.6 metres (31 ft)), Western Sahara (largest prediction at 37 metres (121 ft)), and Mauritania (9.7 metres (32 ft)). This
4897-479: The reconstruction of the island of La Palma . It has the rank of Under Secretary . Hector Izquierdo Triana , born in La Palma and secretary of state for finance at that time, was appointed to this responsibility. Day et al. (1999) indicated that the Cumbre Vieja may be in the initial stages of failure. The authors of the paper also said that the geological development of La Palma had undergone changes due to
4980-467: The rock strata, and is then drained via the galerias into aqueducts and pipes for distribution. The galerias have been cut into the rocks over centuries. It is possible to walk alongside many of the aqueducts, a popular activity for tourists (similar to the levadas of Madeira ). The tour to the Marcos y Corderos waterfall and springs is also popular. There is an extensive network of irrigation canals in
5063-505: The sea. Today, only a few of these carry water due to the many water tunnels that have been cut into the island's structure. From the Caldera de Taburiente to the south runs the ridge Cumbre Nueva ('New Ridge', which despite its name is older than the Cumbre Vieja , 'Old Ridge.') The southern part of La Palma consists of the Cumbre Vieja, a volcanic ridge formed by numerous volcanic cones built of lava and scoria . The Cumbre Vieja ridge
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#17327646862645146-481: The southerly migration of the hotspot and the collapse of the earlier volcanoes. Subsequent to this, a triple-arm rift system had evolved with the eventual closing down of volcanic activity associated with two of the arms—the north-west and north-east rifts. The reasons can only be hypothesised. This caused the southern arm—the Cumbre Vieja—to be the sole location of volcanic activity. As a result, they postulated that
5229-676: The speed of a jet aircraft ), inundating the African coast in about one hour, the southern coastlines of the British Isles in about 3.5 hours, and the eastern seaboard of North America in about six hours, by which time the initial wave will have subsided into a succession of smaller ones each about 30 metres (100 ft) to 60 metres (200 ft) high. These may surge to several hundred metres in height and be several kilometres apart while retaining their original speed. The models of Day et al. ; (1999), Ward and Day (2001), suggest that
5312-443: The submarine extension has yet been observed. Historical eruptions on the Cumbre Vieja occurred in 1470, 1585, 1646, 1677, 1712, 1949, 1971, and 2021. Detailed geological mapping shows that the distribution and orientation of vents and feeder dykes within the volcano have shifted from a triple rift system (typical of most volcanic ocean islands) to a single north–south rift. It is hypothesised that this structural reorganisation
5395-419: The sunny side (western side). This is due to the clouds not being able to cross the mountains, an effect caused by the counter trade wind. La Palma Airport is served mainly by Binter Canarias and CanaryFly , and Iberia , with flights to and from Tenerife and Gran Canaria , and also to and from mainland Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands. There is also ferry service between
5478-442: The super-heated water to flash into steam. Only at the Hoyo Negro did any phreatomagmatic activity occur. Unlike the northern sector of the island, the Cumbre Vieja is "dry." Unlike the northern sector there are no water galleries, and it is therefore unlikely that the earthquake was caused—as claimed by Day et al.; by water becoming superheated by rising magma. Research is continuing. Due to the lack of seismic monitoring equipment on
5561-754: The surface, with earthquakes up to around 5 on the Richter scale, and over 25,000 recorded in the space of 10 days. On 19 September at 15:15 local time (14:15 UTC ), the volcano started erupting, in Cabeza de Vaca in the Montaña Rajada mountains, in the Las Manchas section of El Paso municipality, A yellow warning was issued, covering 35,000 people in the municipalities of Los Llanos de Aridane , Fuencaliente , El Paso and Villa de Mazo , later raising to its highest level—red—due to
5644-411: The trapped waters could vapourise due to being under considerable pressure. What is postulated is that the waters were heated to a point where they could not absorb further thermal energy in the available space. Continuing heating required the water to expand further and the only way it could do so was to move the flank of the volcano. This caused the two earthquakes that were reported as occurring during
5727-566: The valley of Los Llanos de Aridane . These canals carry water from the mountains throughout the valley and allow for the cultivation of bananas, avocados, flowers, and other plants. Due to the location of the island and the height of its mountains, some 2,400 m (7,874 ft) above sea level, a number of international astronomical observatories have been built on the Roque de los Muchachos . The particular geographical position and climate cause clouds to form between 1,000 m (3,281 ft) and 2,000 m (6,562 ft), usually leaving
5810-412: The volcano amounts up to 843 million euros . The Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction of the island of La Palma, created in 2022 to coordinate and promote the actions adopted by the General State Administration to repair the damage caused by volcanic eruptions and for the reconstruction of the island. Hector Izquierdo Triana , born in La Palma and secretary of state for finance at that time,
5893-407: The west coast to the capital city on the east coast of the island. This road is a two-lane highway that includes a pair of two-lane tunnels. The older tunnel is shorter (1,100 m (3,609 ft)) and higher than the newer tunnel (2,880 m (9,449 ft)). When traveling from one side of the mountain to the other it is common to enter one side in complete clouds (the east side) and come out to
5976-573: The western flank is stable with no evidence of aseismic creep . Other experts agree that the fracture resulting from the 1949 eruption is a shallow and inactive surface expression that should be monitored, but consider the possibility that it is unstable as being almost nonexistent. Also, it is likely that the morphology of the floor of the Atlantic Ocean would hinder the propagation of a transoceanic tsunami. In 2006 Jan Nieuwenhuis of Delft University of Technology simulated several volcanic eruptions and calculated it would take another 10,000 years for
6059-564: The western flank may be in the initial stages of failure. In October 2000, the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ) transmitted a Horizon programme called "Mega-tsunami: Wave of Destruction", which suggested that a future failure of the western flank of Cumbre Vieja could cause a megatsunami . On 18 April 2013, the BBC transmitted a follow-up programme entitled Could we survive a Mega-Tsunami? The programme
6142-468: The western flank of La Palma is static and there is no indication that it has moved since 1949, confirming the dimensions provided by Bonelli-Rubio (1950). Carracedo et al. (2001) state that they consider the crack to be a surface expression which is of a shallow and inactive nature. They also indicate that it should be monitored, but consider the possibility that the edifice is unstable as being almost non-existent. The Tsunami Society (2002) claim that
6225-439: The western flank—or not). Later analysis placed the epicentre north of the township of Jedey. Eruptive activity at the Duraznero vent ceased on 6 July with only degassing continuing. No eruptive activity occurred on 7 July. On 8 July eruptive activity commenced at the Llano del Banco vents—about 4 km (~2.8miles) north of the Duraznero vent, as lava was erupted and flowed down the western flank. The vents opened progressively up
6308-588: The worst effects would be expected in Northern Brazil (13.6 m), French Guiana (12.7 m), mid-US (9.6 m), Western Sahara (largest prediction at 37 meters) and Mauritania (9.7 m). While still large, this would not qualify as a megatsunami (apart from locally in Macaronesia ), with the highest prediction for Western Sahara comparable to the 2011 Japanese tsunami . La Palma can be characterized by two main climate types: The Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csb/Csa ), characterized by dry summers and humid winters,
6391-613: Was also explored in a BBC docu-drama called End Day which went through several hypothetical scenarios of disastrous proportions. However, nowhere in their papers do the authors make any claim about the imminent collapse of the flank. Rather, they state that they have modelled the worst-case scenario. In 2002 the Tsunami Society published a statement stating "... We would like to halt the scaremongering from these unfounded reports..." The major points raised in this report include: A geological survey published in 1999 concluded that
6474-492: Was appointed to this responsibility. In an episode of the BBC Horizon series broadcast on 12 October 2000, two geologists hypothesised that during a future eruption, the western flank of Cumbre Vieja , with a mass of approximately 1.5 x10 kg, could slide into the ocean. This could then generate a giant wave, known as a " megatsunami " around 650–900 m (2,130–2,950 ft) high. The wave could radiate out across
6557-401: Was conjectured as potentially failing and falling into the Atlantic Ocean to create the hypothesised La Palma mega-tsunami was both too small in mass and volume, and far too stable to break away within the next 10,000 years. A 2008 paper by Løvholt et al. looked into this very worst-case scenario, the most massive slide that could happen (though unlikely and probably impossible right now with
6640-434: Was inflicted on islands several hundreds of kilometres from Ritter Island. There is no record of inundation occurring at trans-oceanic distances. The tsunami was witnessed by several Europeans living on many of the islands. Murty et al. (2005) claim that it is almost impossible for a trans-oceanic tsunami to be generated in the basin of the Atlantic Ocean , which—if correct—supports the work by many other researchers that
6723-401: Was introduced into the geological vocabulary. In the center of the island is the Caldera de Taburiente National Park , one of four national parks in the Canary Islands. The full name of the island is "San Miguel de La Palma" ("Saint Michael of La Palma"), usually abbreviated simply to "La Palma". La Palma is nicknamed "La Isla Bonita" ("beautiful island"). La Palma, like the other islands of
6806-413: Was presented in a "breaking news" reporting style. It painted a scenario in which the western flank of the Cumbre Vieja had collapsed and the initial wave had an amplitude of about 1,000 metres. The programme used computer generated graphics to present a story line that is based on a hypothesis. The programme interviewed several scientific personnel to give credence to the story. One scientist claimed, "This
6889-452: Was traceable to the Hoyo Negro and Duraznero vents, making a total length of about two and half kilometres or about 1/10 of the exposed length of the Cumbre Vieja, and parts of the western half of the Cumbre Vieja ridge had apparently moved about 1 metre sideways and 2 metres downwards towards the Atlantic Ocean . It was only in the vicinity of the Duraznero and Hoyo Negro vents that the vertical displacement attained about 4 metres. As of 2009,
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