Lanzarote owes its landscape entirely to volcanic activity; the dry climate and lack of erosion means that the volcanic landscape looks very much as it did just after the eruptions. Lanzarote is known around the world as the ‘Island of Volcanoes’. The Timanfaya National Park is the volcanic region spanning about ¼ of the island and whilst there is no monumental peak such as Mount Teide in Tenerife, Timanfaya is a truly surreal and stunning volcanic zone.
Lanzarote, a shield volcano comprising of prominent fissure vents and is believed to be 15 million years old. There are four main ‘calderas’ and numerous cones and fissures. There have been two eruption events in Lanzarote the first from 1730-1736 and the second in 1824. The vents for the 1730-1736 eruption are near Montanas del Fuego in the Timanfaya National Park. The 1824 eruption lasted about three months and was focused at the Nuevo del Fuego vent in Timanfaya.