MOUNT TEIDE: THE SACRED VOLCANO OF TENERIFE ISLAND

The Grandma & Claire Fontaine climb Mount Teide

Today The Grandma and her friends have climbed Mount Teide the most spectacular mountain in Tenerife, symbol of all the Canary Islands and one of the active volcanoes in Europe which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007.

It has been an incredible experience for everybody but especially for The Grandma, a person who loves volcanoes. During the trip by special jeeps, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her Intermediate Language Practice manual (Grammar 24).

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Mount Teide is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. If measured from the ocean floor, it is at 7,500 m the highest volcano in the world base-to-peak outside of the Hawaiian Islands, and is described by UNESCO and NASA as Earth's third-tallest volcanic structure.

Teide's elevation makes Tenerife the tenth highest island in the world. Teide is an active volcano: its most recent eruption occurred in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the northwestern Santiago rift. The United Nations Committee for Disaster Mitigation designated Teide a Decade Volcano because of its history of destructive eruptions and its proximity to several large towns, of which the closest are Garachico, Icod de los Vinos and Puerto de la Cruz. Teide, Pico Viejo and Montaña Blanca form the Central Volcanic Complex of Tenerife.

The volcano and its surroundings comprise Teide National Park, which has an area of 18,900 hectares and was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on June 28, 2007.

More information: UNESCO

Teide is the most visited in Europe and the eighth most visited in the world, with some 3 million visitors yearly. Teide Observatory, a major international astronomical observatory, is located on the slopes of the mountain.

Joseph, Jordi & Tonyi visit Teide National Park

Before the 1496 Spanish colonization of Tenerife, the native Guanches referred to a powerful figure living in the volcano, which carries light, power and the sun. El Pico del Teide is the modern Spanish name. Nowadays the name Teide is also used as a personal name.

Teide was a sacred mountain for the aboriginal Guanches, so it was considered a mythological mountain, as Mount Olympus was to the ancient Greeks. According to legend, Guayota (the devil) kidnapped Magec (the god of light and the sun) and imprisoned him inside the volcano, plunging the world into darkness. The Guanches asked their supreme god Achamán for clemency, so Achamán fought Guayota, freed Magec from the bowels of the mountain, and plugged the crater with Guayota. It is said that since then, Guayota has remained locked inside Teide. When going on to Teide during an eruption, it was customary for the Guanches to light bonfires to scare Guayota. Guayota is often represented as a black dog, accompanied by his host of demons (Tibicenas).

More information: Volcano Teide

The Guanches also believed that Teide held up the sky. Many hiding places found in the mountains contain the remains of stone tools and pottery. These have been interpreted as being ritual deposits to counter the influence of evil spirits, like those made by the Berbers of Kabylie. The Guanches believed the mountain to be the place that housed the forces of evil and the most evil figure, Guayota.

Guayota shares features similar to other powerful deities inhabiting volcanoes, such as the goddess Pele of Hawaiian mythology, who lived in the Kīlauea volcano and was regarded by the native Hawaiians as responsible for the eruptions of the volcano.

The stratovolcanoes Teide and Pico Viejo are the most recent centres of activity on the volcanic island of Tenerife, which is the largest and highest island in the Canaries. It has a complex volcanic history. The formation of the island and the development of the current Teide volcano took place in the five stages shown in the diagram on the right.

Tina Picotes & Mount Teide, Tenerife

Like the other Canary Islands, and volcanic ocean islands in general, Tenerife was built by accretion of three large shield volcanoes, which developed in a relatively short period. This early shield stage volcanism formed the bulk of the emerged part of Tenerife. The shield volcanoes date back to the Miocene and early Pliocene and are preserved in three isolated and deeply eroded massifs: Anaga to the northeast, Teno to the northwest and Roque del Conde to the south. Each shield was apparently constructed in less than three million years, and the entire island in about eight million years.

The initial juvenile stage was followed by a period of 2–3 million years of eruptive quiescence and erosion. This cessation of activity is typical of the Canaries; La Gomera, for example, is currently at this stage. After this period of quiescence, the volcanic activity became concentrated within two large edifices: the central volcano of Las Cañadas, and the Anaga massif. The Las Cañadas volcano developed over the Miocene shield volcanoes and may have reached 40 km in diameter and 4,500 m in height.

More information: Web Tenerife

Around 160–220 thousand years ago the summit of the Las Cañadas I volcano collapsed, creating the Las Cañadas (Ucanca) caldera. Later, a new stratovolcano, Las Cañadas II, formed in the vicinity of Guajara and then catastrophically collapsed. Another volcano, Las Cañadas III, formed in the Diego Hernandez sector of the caldera. All of the Las Cañadas volcanoes attained a maximum altitude similar to that of Teide, which is sometimes referred to as the Las Cañadas IV volcano.

Two theories on the formation of the caldera exist. The first states that the depression is the result of a vertical collapse of the volcano triggered by the emptying of shallow magma chambers at around sea level under the Las Cañadas volcano after large-volume explosive eruptions.

The Grandma climbs Mount Teide, Tenerife

The second theory is that the caldera was formed by a series of lateral gravitational collapses similar to those described in Hawaii. Evidence for the latter theory has been found in both onshore observations and marine geology studies.

From around 160,000 years ago until the present day, the stratovolcanoes of Teide and Pico Viejo formed within the Las Cañadas caldera. The lava flows on the flanks of Teide weather to a very thin but nutrient- and mineral-rich soil that supports a wide variety of plant species. Vascular flora consists of 168 plant species, 33 of which are endemic to Tenerife.

Forests of Canary Island Pine (Pinus canariensis) with Canary Island juniper (Juniperus cedrus) occur from 1,000 to 2,100 metres, covering the middle slopes of the volcano and reaching an alpine tree line 1,000 m lower than that of continental mountains at similar latitudes.

More information: Hello Canary Islands

Within the Las Cañadas caldera and at higher altitudes, plant species endemic to the Teide National Park include: the Teide white broom (Spartocytisus supranubius), which has white flowers; Descurainia bourgaeana, a shrubby crucifer with yellow flowers; the Canary Island wallflower (Erysimum scoparium), which has violet flowers; and the Teide bugloss (Echium wildpretii), whose red flowers form a pyramid up to 3 m in height. The Teide daisy (Argyranthemum teneriffae) can be found at altitudes close to 3,600 m above sea level, and the Teide violet (Viola cheiranthifolia) can be found right up to the summit.

These plants are adapted to the tough environmental conditions on the volcano, such as high altitude, intense sunlight, extreme temperature variations, and lack of moisture.

Joseph de Ca'th Lon visits the Teide Observatory

Adaptations include hemispherical forms, a downy or waxy cover, a reduction of the exposed leaf area, and a high flower production. Flowering takes place in the late spring or early summer, in May and June.

Teide National Park contains a large number of invertebrate species, over 40% of which are endemic species, and 70 of which are found only in the National Park. The invertebrate fauna includes spiders, beetles, dipterans, hemipterans, and hymenopterae.

In contrast, Teide National Park has only a limited variety of vertebrate fauna. Ten species of bird nest there, including the blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea teydea), Berthelot's pipit (Anthus berthelotii berthelotii), the Atlantic canary (Serinus canaria) and a subspecies of kestrel (Falco tinnunculus canariensis).

More information: The Culture Trip

Three endemic reptile species are found in the park: the Canary Island lizard (Gallotia galloti galloti), the Canary Island wall gecko (Tarentola delalandii), and the Canary Island skink (Chalcides viridanus viridanus).

The only mammals native to the park are bats, the most common of which is Leisler’s bat (Nyctalus leisleri). Other mammals, such as the mouflon, the rabbit, the house mouse, the black rat, the feral cat, and the North African hedgehog, have all been introduced to the park.

Starred night at Mount Teide, Tenerife

Teide National Park is a useful volcanic reference point for studies related to Mars because of the similarities in their environmental conditions and geological formations. An astronomical observatory is located on the slopes of the mountain, taking advantage of the altitude, above most clouds, good weather and stable seeing from the site. The Teide Observatory is operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. It includes solar, radio and microwave telescopes, in addition to traditional optical night-time telescopes.

Teide is the main symbol of Tenerife and the most emblematic natural monument of the Canary Islands. An image of Teide appears gushing flames at the centre of Tenerife's coat of arms. Above the volcano appears St. Michael, the patron saint of Tenerife.

The flag colors of the island are dark blue, traditionally identified with the sea that surrounds the island, and white for the whiteness of the snow-covered peaks of Mount Teide during winter. The logo of the Cabildo de Tenerife, governing body of the island, includes a symbol of Teide in eruption.

In the Canary Islands, especially on Tenerife, Teide has cultural symbolism deeply rooted in traditions and history. It is popularly referred to as Padre Teide (Father Teide).

More information: Teide by Night

Atlas is lofty and has a cylindrical form.

It is said to stand so tall that one cannot see its summit 

on account of the clouds which in summer 

as well as winter envelope it, and it is called 

by the inhabitants a Pillar of Heaven.
 

Herodotus