STANDING at 7500kms from it’s base on the Atlantic floor, mount Teide in the canary island of Tenerife, is the third highest volcano in the world after the ‘Mauna Kea’ and ‘Mauna Loa’ in Hawaii. Mountain Teide is active in the volcanic sense of the word and it last erupted in 1909 from the ‘El Chinyero’ vent. The volcano is also on the United Nations list of Decade Volcanos which includes 16 volcanoes that require contact surveillance and because of their history of destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas. Teide sits very close to notorious mount Etna and Vesuvius on this list. The reminiscent of the destruction causes by Teide can be clearly seen today in the town of Garachico.

This image of the Teide National Park was taken by the NASA Expedition crew on 3 August 2009 from space.
IMG SOURCE: WIKI CREATIVE COMMONS

Presently the volcanic activity of the area is limited to the 2 stratovolcanoes: Teide and Pico Viejo; however, the extent of the volcanic past can be see in the size of the Las Cañadas caldera (the shallow area left when a volcano collapses within itself). The caldera is 16kms × 9kms, suggesting that the Las Cañadas volcano once standing here must have been about 40km in diameter and 4,500m in height as compared to Teide which is about 3,718m in height about sea level. The island is about 8 million years old and the oldest epicentres of volcanic activity are the Anaga mountains in the north, Teno in the north-west and the ‘Roque del Conde’ in the south.

Interestingly the caldera or the depression has been the rise and fall of not just one volcano, the Las Cañadas I, but 2 others– the Las Cañadas III and Las Cañadas III. The current one, mount Teide is also called the Las Cañadas IV.

In its entire history of 8 million years, Teide National Park has historically always been a playground of the Las Cañadas volcanoes. In 1706, the Montañas Negras erupted and destroyed the town and principal port of Garachico, as well as several smaller villages. In 1798, eruptions occurred from the Narices del Teide on the western flank of Pico Viejo. The last explosive eruption involving the central volcanic centre was from Montaña Blanca around 2000 years ago. Today eruptive material from Pico Viejo, Montaña Teide and Montaña Blanca partially fills the Las Cañadas caldera.

A recent study showed that Teide will erupt violently in future and that it has a structure similar to that of Vesuvius and Etna. Teide is considered unstable and has a distinctive bulge on its northern flank. This bulge is not believed to be
associated with an influx of magma, but stems from a slow northwards collapse of the edifice. During 2003, there was an increase in seismic activity at the volcano suggesting the movement of lava within.
The best way to explore the area is to hike or by taking the cable car that goes from 2,356m most of the way to the summit, reaching 3,555 m. However, the accessibility to the last 200m to the summit is limited public is limited and a permit is required.

I visited Teide National Park on the island of Tenerife on the 17th February 2013.