The Canary Islands are now an extremely popular destination for people to take a holiday and not just for people in Europe but all over the world. It takes less than four hours to get there from most European countries but once there holiday makers can enjoy lovely high temperatures and some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe. No matter which island people visit they will be greeted by amazing beaches and some picturesque villages making the Canary Islands the perfect holiday spot.
The Canary Islands weren't formed like a lot of other islands as an under-water volcano eruption created what are called volcanic islands. The group of islands were formed millions of years ago because the area where they now sit is a hot spot where there are volcanoes beneath the surface. When the volcanoes erupted the lava and debris which spilled out of them gradually built up on the ocean floor until they reached sea level and became an island.
Islands are formed in this way because as the lava flows out it doesn't spread. Instead the lava rises continuously higher as it has nowhere to go except for on top of the lava which is already there. The water cools the lava slowly and it becomes much thicker until the eruption stops and the process speeds up even more. Without the heat source provided by fresh lava the cooling rate is much faster and the lava sets hard over a long period of time.
The hot spot still exists beneath the Canary Islands and eruptions do still occur on the islands but not very often. The last large eruption was on Lanzarote in 1730 and lasted for six years. The eruption covered a lot of land and killed a lot of vegetation and wildlife. The volcano is dormant now though and has been since the 1800s. Despite this the heat it creates can still be felt through the surface in parts.
More recently a new eruption began creating a new island just 70 metres off El Hierro which shot magma and debris high into the air. The magma is within 60 metres of the surface and if it continues to erupt there is a chance it will break the surface and possibly even connect with El Hierro which is currently the smallest of the Canary Islands.
The Canary Islands weren't formed like a lot of other islands as an under-water volcano eruption created what are called volcanic islands. The group of islands were formed millions of years ago because the area where they now sit is a hot spot where there are volcanoes beneath the surface. When the volcanoes erupted the lava and debris which spilled out of them gradually built up on the ocean floor until they reached sea level and became an island.
Islands are formed in this way because as the lava flows out it doesn't spread. Instead the lava rises continuously higher as it has nowhere to go except for on top of the lava which is already there. The water cools the lava slowly and it becomes much thicker until the eruption stops and the process speeds up even more. Without the heat source provided by fresh lava the cooling rate is much faster and the lava sets hard over a long period of time.
The hot spot still exists beneath the Canary Islands and eruptions do still occur on the islands but not very often. The last large eruption was on Lanzarote in 1730 and lasted for six years. The eruption covered a lot of land and killed a lot of vegetation and wildlife. The volcano is dormant now though and has been since the 1800s. Despite this the heat it creates can still be felt through the surface in parts.
More recently a new eruption began creating a new island just 70 metres off El Hierro which shot magma and debris high into the air. The magma is within 60 metres of the surface and if it continues to erupt there is a chance it will break the surface and possibly even connect with El Hierro which is currently the smallest of the Canary Islands.
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