Three years ago, the longest and most damaging eruption since there were records on La Palma ended. We have approached the Tajogaite volcano to see how the landscape changed in this area of the island.
On this day three years ago, experts of the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Response due to volcanic risk in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (PEVOLCA) They concluded the eruption of the new unnamed volcano in the Cumbre Vieja complexand specifically in a place known as Cabezavaca, in the municipality of El Paso, in La Palma.
The eruption began on September 19, 2021. That day, the earth opened in this area after months of earthquakes that were increasingly superficial and intense: the magma tried to make its way through the fissures to come to the surface. Finally, he succeeded, giving rise to the most recent eruption of La Palma, the Canary Islands and Spain.
This was the longest eruption since there were records on the beautiful island
Few imagined it, but that was the beginning of the longest eruption since there were records on the beautiful island. In those 85 days the new volcano, finally officially named Tajogaite, forever transformed the landscape and geology of this area of the island.also changing the lives of nearly 7,000 people who were forced to move to protect themselves from the unstoppable force of this geological phenomenon.
Before Tajogaite, on October 26, 1971 La Palma saw the birth of the Teneguía, where the rash remained active for 24 days. Records are also preserved of the eruptions of 1585 (Tajuya volcano, with 84 days, the longest before 2021), 1646 (Tigalate), 1667 (San Antonio), 1712 (El Charco) and 1949 (San Juan or Nambroque ).
Throughout the eruptive process, more than 200 million m were emitted.3 of material through up to 6 active craters at a time (more than all the last recent eruptions on the island), highlighting the formation of the main cone 500 m long and nearly 200 meters high. The eruptive column had an average height of 3500 meters, reaching a maximum height of 8500 meters. meters above sea level on December 13, 2021, the day the eruption ended.
According to volcanologists from IGN and INVOLCAN, The Tajogaite eruption was moderately explosive—level 3 on a scale of 0 to 8, known as VEI—some of the finest pyroclastic materials reached the islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Gomera and El Hierro. Experts remember that it is a great example of a Strombolian eruption, with intercalation of Hawaiian and hydromagmatic phases, of pahoehoe and aa flows.
A process that changed the landscape of this area of the island
The eruption destroyed 1,345 homes, 16 schools, 75 industries, and 44 leisure and hospitality establishments., 73.8 kilometers of roads and 370 hectares of crops, mainly vineyards and banana trees. Several small population centers were buried by the lava flows, which reached the coast of the Aridane valley and destroyed Los Guirres beach, among others. Three fajanas were created, the largest of them, measuring about 45 hectares: it is the youngest territory in Spain.
Three years after the end of this eruptive process, the island continues to make efforts to rebuild those most affected places. Se They have opened new roads on an island that has very rugged terrain for terrestrial connectivity, recovering public services linked to health or education. Unfortunately, aid and the construction of homes for people who lost their homes is being a long and tedious process, not without controversy.
In Meteored we have approached this place and have contemplated the new volcano from different perspectiveson the occasion of this third anniversary of the end of the eruption. It is very impressive to see the large lava flows, measuring meters thick, and the homes buried by them. The Canary Islands pine has re-emerged, showing its incredible capacity for resistance.
It is very difficult to imagine what that must have been like live and direct. But Nor should we forget that the Canary Islands have been built from eruptionsas it reminds us of its incredible volcanic landscapes that sometimes remind us of the Moon.
The most viral hoaxes that emerged during the La Palma eruption
As with the DANA at the end of Octoberwhich unfortunately left more than 200 dead in Spain (the vast majority in the province of Valencia), During the eruption of Tajogaite numerous hoaxes and atrocities arose related to the volcano. It was even said that it was the result of the effects of climate change, phenomena that have nothing to do with it.
Also The Palmeros were accused of building on top of a volcano, when it did not exist before the eruption, like many others on La Palma.. On the other hand, the old theory went viral stating that the eruption would cause a part of the island to break off, generating a megatsunami that would reach the United States, something denied for many years by Spanish geologists. And they are only a few, since many others do not even deserve to be mentioned.
