Tajogaite: The Volcano That Erupted for Eighty-Five Days
Canary Islands, Spain
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Tajogaite
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300
XP
+100 Spain
= 400 total
1 day
Tajogaite: The Volcano That Erupted for Eighty-Five Days
300 + 100 XP
On 19 September 2021 a vent opened near El Paraíso in the municipality of El Paso, the first eruption on La Palma since Teneguía in 1971. It ran for eighty-five days, the longest recorded on the island. On 10 October the flow buried the last buildings standing in Todoque. By the time the tremor stopped on 13 December it had destroyed 2,988 buildings and covered 1,219 hectares, taken out water and power networks and cancelled some five hundred flights. People are still rebuilding. Go carefully and go respectfully: this is somebody's house under the lava.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Stand at a viewpoint over the lava field and work out that 1,219 hectares of it is new ground made in three months
2
of 5
Find where Todoque was, and remember that the last buildings there were buried on 10 October 2021
3
of 5
Work out the timeline: first vent 19 September, longest eruption on record at eighty-five days, tremor gone by 13 December
4
of 5
Find out how the banana terraces below were affected and what rebuilding them has involved
5
of 5
Walk an authorised route onto the lava with a local guide, who will also tell you what it was like to live through
Stand at a viewpoint over the lava field and work out that 1,219 hectares of it is new ground made in three months
Find where Todoque was, and remember that the last buildings there were buried on 10 October 2021
Work out the timeline: first vent 19 September, longest eruption on record at eighty-five days, tremor gone by 13 December
Find out how the banana terraces below were affected and what rebuilding them has involved
Walk an authorised route onto the lava with a local guide, who will also tell you what it was like to live through
Before you go
Parts of the lava field remain closed and unstable with hot ground and gas pockets — go only on authorised routes, with a guide. People lost their homes here; behave accordingly.
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XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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