Lanzarote is island of volcanic origin. About 36 million years ago, repeated subsea volcanic
eruptions began to form the base of the island. These eruptions arose as manifestations of
intraplate volcanism through continantal drift and hotspot volcanism. 15.5 million years ago,
Lanzarote grew beyond the ocean surface. The geodynamic laboratory Lanzarote investigates
the associated terrestrial, oceanic and atmospheric phenomena.
The surface of Lanzarote was formed by four major volcanic phases:
Phase 1: The Famara massif in the north, the second highest mountain range of Los Ajaches,
the eastern part of the Rubicon plain, as well as individual volcanoes near Tías in the southeast
were built here. This eruption phase took place between 15.5 and 3.8 million years ago,
interrupted by periods of erosion.
Phase 2: The western part of the Rubicón plain with the Montaña Roja, some volcanoes in the
interior of the island, as well as the Montaña de Guanapay near Teguise and the Atalaya near
Haría in the north. This eruptive phase took place about 1.3 to 2.7 million years.
Phase 3: There were up to 100 eruption centers scattered around the island between about
730,000 and 240,000 years ago.
Phase 4: Here is a distinction: The first eruption phase was created some 3,000 years ago in
northeastern Lanzarote, the 30 square kilometer Malpaís de la Coronal and thus the Cueva de
los Verdes. The second eruption phase occured from 1730 to 1736 and 1824, with over 23
percent of Lanzarote's surface area covered by about three to five cubic kilometers of new lava
from about 30 new volcanic craters. This scale is one of the most important in historical time in
terms of duration, erupted lava deposits and composition of the lavas (including olivine basalt)
worldwide, after the eruptions of the Eldgjá (around 934) and the Laki Crater (1783-84) in
Iceland. Today, Timanfaya National Park covers much of this area. (Wikipedia)
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