NEN Gallery

Lanzarote's fire mountains, particularly those around the Timanfaya National Park are not extinct volcanoes. They are merely dormant. In 1730 the island suffered a major eruption which continued almost without pause for 6 years. A smaller and shorter eruption took place in 1824. Visitors to the park can take a tour to see the volcanic craters and lava fields. They can also see the power of the land around them. Park wardens push handfuls of brushwood into cracks in the ground just a few inches below the surface and in seconds it bursts into flames. Those dining at 'El Diablo', the restaurant perched on top of a volcano can watch their food being cooked over an open volcanic vent, where the temperature at the surface is around 150 degrees centigrade. Just 15 feet below the ground that temperature rises to 400 degrees centigrade.