Mount Teide: Spain's Volcanic Giant and Europe's Atlantic Rooftop
Mount Teide, Spain's highest peak at 3,718 meters (12,198 ft) above sea level, dominates the scenery of Tenerife and is the tallest point on any Atlantic Ocean island. Teide is the third tallest volcano on Earth, trailing only Hawaii's Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
Over the course of eight million years, this stratovolcano evolved in five separate geological stages. Tenerife's bulk was formed by first shield volcanism during the Miocene and early Pliocene, with three big shield volcanoes—Anaga (northeast), Teno (northwest), and Roque del Conde (south)—each created in less than three million years. Volcanic activity shifted to the central Las Cañadas volcano, which had a diameter of 40 km and a height of 4,500 m, after 2-3 million years of quiet eruptions.
The Teide-Pico Viejo complex formed after a massive collapse 170,000 years ago, resulting in Las Cañadas caldera, a volcanic depression encircling the current peaks. Stratovolcanoes form from consecutive lava eruptions, with increasingly viscous lava settling layer by layer. Over the previous 20,000 years, most eruptions occurred around Teide's base, including Montaña Blanca and Pico Cabras, as lava struggles to reach the peak is high height.
Teide National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2007, includes 18,990 hectares across four municipalities. Fumaroles continue to emerge from the main crater, indicating that the volcano is still active although inactive. The summit contains a prominent whitish cone, pumice, and pyroclastic elements from previous eruption episodes.
The Guanches (Canary Island aborigines) thought Guayota, the devil-king of evil, resided within Teide (hell). According to legend, Guayota kidnapped Magec (the God of Light/Sun) and took him into the mountains. The supreme deity Achamán overcame Guayota, saved Magec, and filled the crater; the white peak cone symbolises Achamán's heavenly plug.
Ancient civilisations adored Teide. Herodotus, a Greek historian, referenced it twice, describing it as a "Pillar of Heaven" so tall that clouds surround its summit all year. Pliny the Elder, a Roman author (24-79 AD), documented snow sightings during King Juba II's journey.
