“On September 1, 1730, between nine and ten o’clock at night, the earth suddenly opened near Timanfaya, two leagues from Yaiza. On the first night, an enormous mountain rose from the earth and flames escaped from the apex, which continued to burn for nineteen days. A few days later, a new abyss formed and a torrent of lava rushed towards Timanfaya, Rodeo, and part of Mancha Blanca. The lava spread to the north at first as fast as water, but soon its speed slowed and it flowed like honey. But on September 7, a considerable rock rose from the earth with a thunder-like noise, and its pressure forced the lava, which was originally directed towards the north, to change its path and head towards the northwest and west-northwest. The mass of lava reached and destroyed the towns of Maretas and Santa Catalina, located in the valley. On September 11, the eruption renewed with greater force, and the lava began to flow. From Santa Catalina, it rushed towards Mazo, ignited and covered the entire village, and continued its path to the sea, running for six consecutive days with a terrifying noise and forming real waterfalls. A large number of dead fish floated on the surface of the sea and came to die on the shore. Soon everything calmed down, and the eruption seemed to have completely stopped.”
This text is part of one of the earliest accounts of historical eruptions, that of the Timanfaya volcano on the island of Lanzarote. The narrative is from the priest of Yaiza, Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo. Scientists estimate that the volume of lava expelled may have reached one cubic kilometer and completely modified the island’s ancient morphology.
The description of this natural phenomenon that devastated fields and villages and forced its inhabitants to emigrate to other areas of the island contrasts with the vision of the landscape created by volcanic activity, which is at the origin of the entire Canary archipelago. A colorful, desolate, barren landscape with rocky figures of a gruesome appearance induces tranquility but also incites us to imagine how those days were when the earth roared. There is little fauna on the island that is barely visible, succulent plants are adapted to a fairly adverse environment, and contrast their green and white colors with the blacks, reddish and brown colors of volcanic rocks; one could almost speak of an island without trees.
Getting lost in these landscapes, outside the usual tourist areas, shapes the mood. Sometimes you feel great calm and at other times, you feel small and defenseless in the face of so much natural force printed in its traces, but everything in the end remains an illusion, summed up in the saying that we only remember St. Barbara when it thunders.
Ernesto Cardoso
| Season 3. Chapter 5 | Vulcanismo |
| Recording date | December 2020 |
| Duration | 1:59 minutes |
| date of issue | March 5, 2021 |
| Location | Isla de Lanzarote, Canarias. España |
| Image and sound | Ernesto Cardoso |
| Edition | Ernesto Cardoso |
| Opusculum | Ernesto Cardoso |
| Music | Crowander |
| Song | Breath/Surreal |
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