SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The current eruption of La Palma still has no name and the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan) believes that it should be the palm trees who choose and name this eruption. The Institute dares to suggest the name of Tajogaite for this eruption taking into account the aboriginal legacy and the place where this eruptive process began, but it insists that the inhabitants of the island have the last word.
Through its Facebook account, Involcan recalls that today October 12 is the tenth anniversary of the eruption of Tagoro (2011-2012), one of the 17 historical eruptions in the Canary Islands. For some, the underwater eruption of El Hierro began on October 10, 2011, but a strong and clear discoloration of the seawater detected on October 12, 2011 was the clearest observation of the beginning of this underwater eruption as a consequence of a strong interaction between the acid volcanic gases and the alkaline sea water responsible for generating an unparalleled palette of colors in the sea.
The Tagoro eruption (2011-2012) lasted 145 days, the second longest of the historical eruptions in the Canary Islands, and the total volume of material released by this underwater eruption amounted to 329 million cubic meters.
Some people ask Involcan why celebrate the anniversary of a volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands, especially when many people associate volcanic activity as a source of destruction. As explained by the Institute, thanks to the existing magmatic activity in this part of the planet and the countless number of eruptions that have occurred in these islands over millions of years, it has been possible to build the Canary Islands.
On the other hand, scientists are aware that volcanic activity can be a source of destruction, especially for communities living in the vicinity of an eruptive process, but they clarify that the time intervals in which volcanic activity could be a source destruction is much less than the time intervals in which volcanic activity acts as a source of construction, contributing to the socio-economic development of the communities that inhabit volcanic territories.
List of the 17 historical eruptions in the Canary Islands: Tacande (La Palma) 1430-1447; Christopher Columbus (Tenerife) 1492; Boca Cangrejo (Tenerife) 16th century; Tehuya (La Palma) 1585; Tigalate (La Palma) 1646; San Antonio (La Palma) 1677-1678; Siete Fuentes-Fasnia-Arafo (Tenerife) 1704-1705; Arenas Negras (Tenerife) 1706; Charco (La Palma) 1712; Timanfaya (Lanzarote) 1730-1736; Chahorra (Tenerife) 1798; Tao-Nuevo del Fuego-Tinguatón (Lanzarote) 1824; Chinyero (Tenerife) 1909; San Juan (La Palma) 1949; Teneguía (La Palma) 1971; Tagoro (El Hierro; underwater eruption) 2011-2012, and Tajogaite (La Palma) 2021. The volcanic eruption of the Island of Tenerife described by Christopher Columbus (specific location unknown)
