Los Llanos de Aridan, Canary Islands – A volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma with a six-week-old eruption spewed larger amounts of ash from its main mouth on Sunday, a day after it produced its most powerful earthquake yet.
Data from the European Union’s satellite monitoring service showed that lava flows descending toward the Atlantic from a volcanic mountain range have covered 2,400 acres of land since the eruption began on September 19. On the way down the slope, the molten rock destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and forced more than 7,000 people to evacuate.
But authorities in the Canary Islands, of which La Palma is a part, have not reported any injuries from contact with lava or inhalation of toxic gases that often accompany volcanic activity.
Experts said predicting when the eruption will end is difficult because the lava, ash and gases emerging at the surface are a reflection of the complex geological activity that occurs deep in the Earth and beyond the reach of currently available technology.
The Canary Islands, in particular, are “closely associated with thermal deformations that reach the Earth’s core,” said Cornell University geochemist Esteban Gazelle, who has been collecting samples from the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
“It is like a patient. You can watch how it develops, but it is very difficult to say exactly when he will die.” “It’s a process related to many other dimensions of the planet’s interior.”
Signs that scientists have monitored – soil deformation, sulfur dioxide emissions and seismic activity – have remained strong in Cumbre Vega. The Spanish Geographical Institute, or IGN, said the 5-magnitude earthquake in the early hours of Saturday was felt not only by people on La Palma, but also on La Gomera, a neighboring island at the western tip of the Canary Islands archipelago.
IGN said the towering ash plume above the volcano reached an altitude of 15,000 feet on Sunday before being scattered by strong winds. A thick layer of ash covered many nearby towns and the base of a telescope to the north lies on a mountain 7,800 feet above sea level.
The eruption also turned the island into a tourist attraction, especially as many Spaniards prepared to celebrate All Saints Day, a Catholic celebration honoring the dead, on Monday.
Local authorities said that up to 10,000 visitors are expected over the long weekend and that 90% of accommodation in La Palma is fully booked. A shuttle bus service has been set up for tourists wanting to look at the volcano to keep private cars off the main roads so that emergency services can operate unobstructed.
.
