Canary hotspot
The Canary hotspot, also called the Canarian hotspot, is a hotspot and volcanically active region centred on the Canary Islands located off the north-western coast of Africa. Hypotheses for this volcanic activity include a deep mantle plume beginning about 70 million years ago. The underwater El Hierro and subaerial Cumbre Vieja eruptions remain the most recent Canarian eruptions. [1]
Formation
The deep
Recent activity
El Hierro eruption
From July to September 2011, the Canarian
Cumbre Vieja eruption
Prior to the Cumbre Vieja eruption on the island of La Palma on September 20, 2021, over 25,000 earthquakes were recorded starting on September 10. Since the 1971 Teneguía eruption, the volcano has remained very active, as since October 2017 until the 2021 eruption alone, nine earthquake swarms occurred. As a result of the Cumbre Vieja eruption, over 5,000 of the island’s inhabitants had to evacuate, significantly decreasing casualties. Still, more than 1300 homes and 1500 utility buildings were damaged and continuous magma flow stalled repair efforts for weeks.[4] As of 2023, La Palma continues to rebuild its infrastructure.
See also
- Mantle plume
- 2011–12 El Hierro eruption
- 2021 Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption
- Geology of the Canary Islands
References
- ^
- S2CID 247968278.
- ISBN 978-0-12-809663-5
- S2CID 246950800.