Caldera de Taburiente National Park

The Caldera de Taburiente National Park is characterised by an enormous cirque 8 km in diameter with the appearance of a caldera, where multiple volcanic eruptions, large landslides, the erosive force of water and time have shaped its geomorphology, converting it into a rugged landscape with almost 2,000 m of unevenness. The landscape of La Caldera de Taburiente is dominated by a summit cirque 8 km in diameter with slopes of up to 2,000 m, with a spectacular and highly erosive network of streams and torrents. A great variety of plant and animal species have developed in this environment, including a large number of endemic Canary Island species.

The Caldera: a unique structure

The Caldera de Taburiente is an immense depression, one of the largest of its kind in the world, of erosive origin and surrounded by a cirque of peaks 8 km in diameter, where the highest altitudes on the island are to be found: El Roque de los Muchachos (2,426 m), Pico de la Cruz (2,351 m), Piedra Llana (2,321 m), Pico de la Nieve (2,236 m), Punta de los Roques (2,085 m), etc. From these heights, the relief drops towards the interior of the Caldera in almost vertical escarpments of no less than 800 m, reaching a height of 430 m above sea level in its lowest part, which means a drop of almost 2000 m.

To the southwest, the Caldera de Taburiente opens up to the sea through the Barranco de las Angustias ravine, the natural outlet for the park’s numerous streams. To the south, we find the La Cumbrecita pass (1,310 m), the head of the Riachuelo Valley, the old outlet of the Caldera. The park also includes the southern slopes of Pico Bejenado and part of the Riachuelo Valley.

The interior of the Caldera is criss-crossed by countless deep ravines of impressive beauty and suggestive names (Través, Bombas de Agua, Hoyo Verde, Los Cantos de Turugumay, Verduras de Alfonso, Los Guanches, Altaguna, la Faya, Rivanceras, Huanauao, etc.) which converge in the two main ones, Taburiente and Almendro Amargo, whose union in Dos Aguas will give rise to the Barranco de las Angustias. Between them, as silent witnesses of erosion, there are numerous crests and rocks (enormous needles that rise up towards the sky), among which Roque Idafe and Roque del Huso stand out for their beauty.

The oldest lavas on La Palma

This National Park presents geological formations of great interest, where the oldest lava flows of La Palma, components of the basal complex: pillow lavas, plutonic magma, basaltic dykes and agglomerates, to the most modern series of the most vertical walls: lava flows, volcanic cones, basalt dykes reminiscent of the old chimneys and remains of explosive eruptions by accumulation of brightly coloured pyroclasts, on which some rocks are the result of avalanches.

La Caldera shows a large part of the geological history of La Palma. This fact has made it an exceptional place for carrying out numerous studies. For this reason, it has always aroused great interest among scientists from all over the world, especially among geologists. The first great geologist to visit La Caldera was the German Leopold von Buch, in 1825, who based his theory of uplift craters on it, popularising the term “caldera” among the international scientific community for all volcanic structures with similar characteristics.

The origin of the Caldera

The oldest theory of Caldera formation was known as the “Uplift Hypothesis”. According to this theory, the Caldera was formed due to the strong thrust that the deep magma exerted on some lava flows, lifting and fracturing them.

When the thrust disappeared, the central area collapsed, leaving a huge gap.

In the mid-1980s, a theory was developed based on large periods of magmatic activity interspersed with periods of water erosion and small landslides.

In the 1990s, theories were put forward explaining the formation of the Caldera by large landslides due to the effect of gravity, complemented by the erosive effect of water. This theory is attested to by the continuous landslides that have occurred in recent years, some of them of considerable magnitude.

Water: the main protagonist

The interior of the Caldera is full of fountains, springs and waterfalls of great beauty, some of them, such as La Desfondada, which is up to 150 m high. The Hoyo de los Juncos waterfall is smaller, but with a greater flow. Several ravines form permanent watercourses, some of which are of some importance, such as the Taburiente and Almendro Amargo ravines. The waters of the Barranco de Rivaceras ravine, which rises in areas of the basal complex, have a strong yellowish-brownish colour due to their ferruginous waters, which form magnificent contrasts of colour when deposited, as in the Cascada de Colores waterfall.

The changes that occur in the interior as a result of erosion are very evident to the naked eye. Waterfalls disappear, new ones appear, and landslides are constant.

With more than 70 springs and galleries, the flow of the Caldera is considerable. The water no longer flows permanently through the ravine of Las Angustias, as it did at the time of the Conquest, when it was called the Ajerjo river. Much earlier, a network of canals, irrigation ditches and pipes collect it for drinking water and irrigation.

The climate is conditioned by the altitude

The National Park has a Mediterranean-type climate, but this climate is conditioned by latitude, altitude and orientation. The main factors that determine the climate of La Palma are, apart from its latitude, the trade wind circulation system, the relief, the proximity of the African continent and the cold Atlantic current.

Within the Park we can find slight climatic variations depending on the altitude: in the lower zone (400-800 m) there is no frost, little rain and almost never fog; in the middle zone (1000-1500 m) a more contrasting climate in terms of temperature dominates, although it never freezes and there is abundant fog; above 1,500 m fog is less common. Above 2,000 m it usually snows every year in winter, and sometimes there is a phenomenon called “cencellada” due to the north winds, which do not bring snow but ice, and on those days temperatures can reach minus 10ºC. The sea of clouds covers the whole area.

The Caldera is completely covered by a sea of clouds.
The summit is characterised by low relative humidity and torrential rains in autumn and winter, followed by periods of great drought.

A landscape of contrasts

The Caldera de Taburiente National Park is located in a spectacular environment. In the interior of the Caldera, in its deep ravines, towering rocks and vertical walls, grows a universe of plants and animals that is unique in the world. All this is more than enough reason to demand its protection and conservation.