With an average altitude of over 2,000 metres, the
Teide National Park offers you one of the most spectacular
examples of volcanic activity in the world.
It was created in 1954 in recognition of its special
volcanic and biological features. Covering 18,990 hectares,
it is the largest National Park in the Canary Islands.
THE TEIDE AND THE CALDERA
El Teide, with a height of 3,718 metres above sea level,
is the highest mountain in Spain.
It is a stratovolcano which rests on an ancient and
gigantic cauldron-shaped depression made up of two semi-calderas
separated by the Roques de García.
Teide reaches a summit at Pilón de Azucar, which still
shows residual activity in the form of fumaroles and
sulphur at 86ºC.
The cauldron, or caldera, known as Las Cañadas, takes
its name from the most typical structure of the Park:
la Cañada, a sedimentary plain that is normally situated
at the foot of the walls of the caldera.
The genesis of the great Las Cañadas Circus still
causes controversy among geologists, with theories ranging
from an explosion, erosion, collapse and major landslides.
The most widely accepted theory until the early nineties
was the collapse theory as the basic cause. The theory
assumes that it is a caldera with two sub-calderas,
an eastern one and a western one, separated by the Roques
de García and formed by collapses and landslides. The
current volcanic edifice was later formed in the northern
sector of Las Cañadas caldera. This is Teide - Pico
Viejo.
This stratovolcano and the caldera are the two largest
structures in the National Park.
Investigations of the Island´s subsoil, however and
studies of the sea bed and the submarine relief in recent
years have confirmed the theory presented by local geologist
and geographer Telesforo Bravo in 1962. Las Cañadas,
along with the Orotava and Güimar valleys are depressions
formed by gravitational landslides of more than 100
Km3 of part of the island.
Dating places the Güimar valley event 0.8 million years
ago, the Orotava valley event at 0.5 million years ago
and Las Cañadas 0.17 million years ago.
Cableway of Teide
Rides to the summit in cable car from the La Rambleta
cable car station start at 9 a.m. and finish at 4 p.m.,
unless weather conditions or high winds make it impossible.
Restrictive measures have now been taken, to PREVENT
access to the very summit of the cone without a special
permit, although you can go up to the La Fortaleza and
Pico Viejo look outs.
In order to go up to Pico del Teide, along the "Telesforo
Bravo" trail from La Rambleta or Cable Car station (3550
m) you first need written permission from the National
Park Office, which will be valid for TWO given dates:
Oficina del Parque Nacional C/ Emilio Calzadilla, nº
5 - 4ª planta Telf. 922 290129 - 922 290183 Fax: 922
244788 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Office hours: from 9 a.m.
to 2 p.m. from Monday to Friday (take a photocopy of
your passport or I.D. card.)
Observatory of Teide
Group visits must be arranged in advance with the Canary
Island Astrophysics Institute (IAC): Tel. 922 605200
- 922 605207 (La Laguna)
Open: from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for first and last visits.
The visit lasts approximately one an a half hours.
Groups: Groups must not exceed 45 people of be less
than 15. In the latter case, they will be merged with
another group that has already booked a visit.
Routine: Arrive at the Observatory - screening of an
information video about the IAC and its observatories
- Visit of the facility.
Visits are free of charge; visitors are responsible
for transport. The observatory is in Izaña, 6 Km from
"El Portillo" along the La Laguna road.
For more inoformation:
Teide Observatory Tel.:922 329 100 Fax: 922 329 117
email: teide@ot.iac.es
Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute (I.A.C.) C/ Via
Lactea s/n 8200 La Laguna (Tenerife) Tfno: 922 605 200
Fax: 922 605 210 email: cpv@iac.es
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