Top 10 Volcanoes in the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands sit on the slow-moving African Plate, fed by a deep mantle source very much like Hawaii. Every island is a single shield (or a fused pair), and the system as a whole has produced eruptions in roughly every century of the last millennium. La Palma in 2021 was just the latest chapter.
1. Teide (Tenerife)
Spain's highest mountain (3,715 m) and the centre of a vast caldera known as Las Cañadas. Still considered active, with fumaroles at the summit. The cable car climbs to within 200 m of the top; the final section requires a permit.
2. Tajogaite (Cumbre Vieja, La Palma)
The 2021 fissure eruption on the Cumbre Vieja ridge — 85 days of strombolian and effusive activity that destroyed more than 3,000 buildings and added new land to the western coast. The cooled flow field is now a study area and a slow tourist circuit.
3. Pico Viejo (Tenerife)
The second peak of the Teide-Pico Viejo complex, 3,135 m, with a deep crater. Reachable from a long traverse off the Teide trail.
4. Caldera de Taburiente (La Palma)
Not a volcanic caldera in the classic sense — it is an erosion caldera in a 2-million-year-old shield. A vast amphitheatre with pine forests and a 1,500-m-deep central valley.
5. Timanfaya (Lanzarote)
The 1730–1736 eruption series buried a quarter of Lanzarote in lava and made the island's volcanic identity unforgettable. Geothermal heat at the visitor centre still cooks meat on a grate over a vent.
6. Corona (Lanzarote)
A 2-km-long lava tube from the Corona volcano — one of the world's longest — partly opened as the Jameos del Agua and Cueva de los Verdes visitor sites. The volcano above is geologically dormant.
7. Caldera de Bandama (Gran Canaria)
A near-perfect maar a few kilometres south of Las Palmas, with a walkable rim and a vineyard inside the bowl. A reminder that Gran Canaria is still part of the active line.
8. El Hierro (Tagoro, submarine)
The 2011–12 submarine eruption off the south coast of El Hierro produced floating rafts of pumice but never broke the surface. A reminder that most Canarian volcanism is, and was, marine.
9. Roque de los Muchachos (La Palma)
The 2,426-m summit of the eroded La Palma shield, crowned by the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. The dark sky of La Palma is itself a volcanic gift.
10. Garajonay (La Gomera)
The 1,484-m summit of La Gomera and the focus of one of the world's last laurel-cloud forests. The original shield is older and now extinct, but the volcanic substrate still defines the island's hydrology.
How the chain works
The Canaries grow on a slow-moving plate above a mantle source. The oldest islands (Lanzarote, Fuerteventura) are around 20 million years old; La Palma and El Hierro are under 2 million and still building. Eruptions are usually basaltic and effusive — long, gentle lava flows rather than explosive eruptions.
Safety and access
Teide requires a permit booked weeks in advance. La Palma's 2021 lava field is still hot in places and closed to off-trail walking. Lanzarote's Timanfaya is visited by guided bus through the protected core zone. Always check INVOLCAN advisories before approaching any active area.
On the map
Open the map and filter to the Canary Islands to see seven shields strung across the Atlantic — west toward fresh activity, east toward 20-million-year-old eroded shields.