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Volcano newsMonday, May 14, 2012
A slight increase of seismic activity has been noted recently. On 12 May, 5 small quakes occurred in the western part of the island at depths of 2-17 ...
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Volcanoes of Canary Islands (7 volcanoes)The Canary Islands are a chain of volcanic ocean islands located off North Africa's east coast (Western Sahara and Morocco). The islands are the type example of oceanic hot spot volcanoes above a slow-moving, thick oceanic plate.
The age of volcanism decreases from east to west, as the Atlantic plate slowly moves ENE above the Canarian Hot Spot. From the oldest to the youngest, the islands are Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the oldest islands, are in their erosional stage and recent volcanic activity is explained by a secondary mantle convection at the continental margin. Gran Canaria and Tenerife are in the post shield phase with rejuvenated volcanism. Rejuvenated volcanism has not yet started at La Gomera, which is in the erosional stage after the shield building phase has ended, and might skip this stage, as no volcanism has occurred for 2-3 million years and volcanic pathways have probably sealed. La Palma and El Hierro, the youngest of the island chain, are still above the hot spot and in their shield building phase.
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