🌋VolcanoAtlas

La Palma

The Canary Island That Erupted Live on Global Television

Elevation

2,426 m

Last Eruption

2021 (Tajogaite)

Type

Stratovolcano(es)

Country

Spain

Location

Loading map...

Volcanic Hazards & Risk Assessment

Primary Hazards

  • Pyroclastic flows
  • Lava flows
  • Volcanic bombs and ballistics
  • Lahars and mudflows

Risk Level

Population at RiskLow
Infrastructure RiskHigh
Aviation RiskSignificant

Geological Composition & Structure

Rock Types

Primary
Unknown
Silica Content
Varied composition

Tectonic Setting

Unknown
Intraplate setting with hotspot or regional volcanic activity.

Age & Formation

Epoch
Unknown
Evidence
Unknown

Eruption Statistics & Analysis

MetricValueGlobal RankingSignificance
Total Recorded EruptionsUnknownLowModerately active volcano
Maximum VEIVEI UnknownMinorLocal impact potential
Recent Activity5 years agoVery RecentCurrently active

Monitoring & Alert Status

Monitoring Networks

Global Volcanism Program
International eruption database

Current Status

Active
Recent volcanic activity detected. Continuous monitoring in place.

Authority Sources

Smithsonian GVP
Official volcano database

Related Volcanoes

All Spain Volcanoes
Explore by country
Stratovolcano(es) Volcanoes
By volcano type
Canary Islands
Regional volcanoes
a forest filled with lots of burnt trees

Pierre-Yves Burgi

via Unsplash

brown and gray mountain under blue sky during daytime

Miguel Ángel Sanz

via Unsplash

a fire hydrant spewing out water at night

Alberto Rodríguez Santana

via Unsplash

a group of houses in a valley

Federico Mata

via Unsplash

a dirt field with a mountain in the background

Victoriano Izquierdo

via Unsplash

a man standing in front of a gate on top of a mountain

Victoriano Izquierdo

via Unsplash

Other Volcanoes in Spain

Interesting Facts

🌋

The 2021 Tajogaite eruption lasted 85 days, the longest historically recorded eruption on La Palma, destroying over 3,000 buildings and displacing approximately 7,000 people.

🌋

La Palma has erupted seven times since 1585, giving it an average recurrence interval of approximately 77 years — one of the most predictable eruption patterns among Atlantic volcanic islands.

🌋

Lava flows reached the Atlantic Ocean during at least seven of La Palma's historical eruptions (1585, 1646, 1712, 1949, 1971, and 2021), creating new coastal land each time.

🌋

The Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma's summit ridge is one of the world's premier astronomical facilities, located at 2,426 m elevation with some of the clearest skies in the Northern Hemisphere.

🌋

The economic damage from the 2021 eruption exceeded 840 million euros, making it the costliest volcanic event in modern Spanish history.

🌋

No direct fatalities occurred during the 2021 eruption despite its severity, thanks to effective monitoring and timely evacuation — a model for volcanic risk management.

🌋

The Caldera de Taburiente, approximately 10 km in diameter and 1,500 m deep, is not a volcanic caldera but a massive erosional and gravitational collapse feature.

🌋

La Palma's Cumbre Vieja rift zone contains over 120 visible cinder cones and craters, lined along a prominent N-S axis.

🌋

Obsidian and volcanic rock from La Palma were used by the indigenous Benahoaritas for tools before Spanish colonization in 1493.

🌋

The 2021 Tajogaite eruption produced approximately 200 million cubic meters of lava, enough to fill 80,000 Olympic swimming pools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is La Palma still volcanically active?
Yes, La Palma is one of the most active volcanic islands in the Canary archipelago. The Cumbre Vieja rift zone on the southern half of the island has erupted seven times since 1585, most recently during the Tajogaite eruption of September-December 2021. While the island is currently in a post-eruptive quiescent phase with gradually declining seismicity, scientists consider future eruptions on Cumbre Vieja to be certain — the historical record suggests eruptions approximately every 50-80 years. INVOLCAN and IGN maintain extensive monitoring networks on the island.
What happened during the 2021 La Palma eruption?
The Tajogaite eruption began on September 19, 2021, when a fissure opened on Cumbre Vieja's western flank. Over 85 days, lava flows destroyed more than 3,000 buildings, buried over 1,200 hectares of land — including banana plantations — and displaced approximately 7,000 people. Lava reached the Atlantic Ocean, creating new coastal land. Explosive activity from the main vent complex sent ash plumes up to 8 km high. The eruption ended on December 13, 2021, and was classified at VEI 3. Despite the destruction, no direct fatalities occurred thanks to effective monitoring and evacuation.
Could La Palma cause a mega-tsunami?
The idea that a Cumbre Vieja flank collapse could generate a devastating trans-Atlantic tsunami was proposed in a 2001 scientific paper and has received extensive media coverage. However, most volcanologists consider a sudden, catastrophic flank collapse extremely unlikely. Large volcanic landslides typically occur incrementally over many events rather than as a single catastrophic failure. While La Palma's steep flanks and historical evidence of past mass-wasting events mean landslide hazards cannot be entirely dismissed, the extreme mega-tsunami scenario is considered by the scientific consensus to be highly improbable. Lava flows and ashfall remain the primary realistic hazards.
How many times has La Palma erupted?
The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program records 14 eruptions at La Palma, spanning from approximately 6050 BCE to the 2021 Tajogaite eruption. Seven of these have occurred during the historical period since 1481: Tacande (1481), Tahuya (1585), Tigalate (1646), Fuencaliente (1677-1678), El Charco (1712), San Juan (1949), Teneguia (1971), and Tajogaite (2021). All historical eruptions have been fissure-fed events on the Cumbre Vieja rift zone, producing cinder cones and lava flows.
Can you visit the 2021 eruption site on La Palma?
Yes, the 2021 Tajogaite lava field and eruption site have become significant visitor attractions on La Palma. Viewpoints have been established at safe distances around the lava field perimeter, offering views of the new volcanic cone, the solidified lava rivers, and the new coastline created where lava entered the sea. Some areas remain restricted due to ongoing gas emissions (particularly CO2) and unstable ground. The island also offers numerous other volcanic attractions including the Caldera de Taburiente National Park, the Cumbre Vieja ridge trail, and the Teneguia volcanic area at the southern tip.
What type of volcano is La Palma?
La Palma is an oceanic volcanic island built by intraplate (hotspot) volcanism, similar in tectonic origin to Hawaii though different in composition. The active Cumbre Vieja system is a volcanic rift zone — an elongated N-S ridge along which fissure eruptions produce cinder cones and basaltic lava flows. The predominant rock types are trachybasalt, tephrite, and basanite — alkaline basaltic compositions reflecting the deep mantle hotspot source. The eruption style is typically Strombolian to violent Strombolian, with lava fountains, cinder cone building, and fluid lava flows.
How tall is La Palma?
La Palma's highest point is Roque de los Muchachos at 2,426 m (7,959 ft), on the northern rim of the Caldera de Taburiente. This makes La Palma one of the tallest Atlantic volcanic islands. The active Cumbre Vieja ridge reaches approximately 1,950 m. However, the island rises from ocean depths of over 4,000 m, meaning La Palma's total volcanic edifice is over 6,500 m from seafloor to summit — comparable to many major continental volcanoes.