F. Hernán

Volcanic evolution of the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands) in the light of new K-Ar data

New age determinations from Tenerife, together with those previously published (93 in all), provide a fairly comprehensive picture of the volcanic evolution of the island. The oldest volcanic series, with ages starting in the late Miocene, are formed mainly by basalts with some trachytes and phonolites which appear in Anaga, Teno and Roque del Conde massifs. In Anaga (NE), three volcanic cycles occurred: one older than 6.5 Ma, a second one between 6.5 and 4.5 Ma, with a possible gap between 5.4 and 4.8 Ma, and a late cycle around 3.6 Ma. In Teno (NW), after some undated units, the activity took place between 6.7 and 4.5 Ma, with two main series separated by a possible pause between 6.2 and 5.6 Ma. In the zone of Roque del Conde (S), the ages are scattered between 11.6 and 3.5 Ma. Between 3.3 and 1.9 Ma, the whole island underwent a period of volcanic quiescence and erosion. The large Canadas volcano, made up of basalts, trachytes and phonolites, was built essentially between 1.9 and 0.2 Ma. To the NE of this central volcano, linking it with Anaga, is a chain of basaltic emission centers, with a peak of activity around 0.8 Ma. The Canadas Caldera had several collapse phases, associated with large ignimbrite emissions. There were, at least, an older phase more than 1 Ma old, on the western part of the volcano, and a younger one, less than 0.6 Ma old, in the eastern side. The two large “valleys” of Guimar and la Orotava were formed by large landslides less than 0.8 Ma ago, and probably before 0.6 Ma ago. The present Canadas caldera was formed by another landslide, less than 0.2 Ma ago. This caldera was later filled by the huge Teide volcano, which has been active even in historic times. During the same period a series of small volcanoes erupted at scattered locations throughout the island. The average eruptive rate in Tenerife was 0.3 km3/ka, with relatively small variations for the different eruptive periods. This island and La Gomera represent a model of growth by discontinuous pulses of volcanic activity, separated by gaps often coinciding with episodes of destruction of the edifices and sometimes extended for several million years. The neighbouring Gran Canaria, on the other hand, had an initial, rapid “shield-building phase” during which more than 90% of the island was built, and a series of smaller pulses at a much later period. A comparison between these three central islands indicates that the previously postulated westward displacement in time of a gap in the volcanic activity is valid only as a first approximation. Several gaps are present on each island, overlapping in time and not clearly supporting either of the models proposed to explain the evolution of the Canaries.

Evolution of the eastern volcanic ridge of the Canary Islands based on new KAr data

The results of 64 new KAr age determinations, together with 32 previously published ages, show that after a period of erosion of the basal complex, Miocene volcanic activity started around 20 Ma in Fuerteventura and 15 Ma in Lanzarote, forming a tabular succession of basaltic lavas and pyroclastics with a few salic dykes and plugs. This series includes five separate volcanic edifices, each one with its own eruptive history. In Fuerteventura, several Miocene eruptive cycles have been identified: in the central edifice one around 20–17 Ma, followed by two others centred around 15 and 13 Ma; in the southern edifice the maximum of activity took place around 16–14 Ma, whereas in the northern one the main activity occurred between 14 and 12 Ma. In Lanzarote a first cycle of activity took place in the southern edifice between 15.5 and 14.1 Ma, followed by another between 13.6 and 12.3 Ma. In the northern edifice three pulses occurred: 10.2–8.3, 6.6–5.3 and 3.9–3.8 Ma. An important temporal gap, greater in Fuerteventura than in Lanzarote, separates Series I from the Plio-Quaternary Series II, III and IV, formed by multi-vent basaltic emissions. In Fuerteventura the following eruptive cycles have been identified: 5, 2.9–2.4, 1.8–1.7, 0.8–0.4 and <0.1 Ma. In Lanzarote, the activity was fairly continuous from 2.7 Ma to historic times, with a maximum in the Lower Pleistocene. Eruptive rates in the Series I edifices were on the average 0.1–0.01 km3/ka, comparable but slightly smaller than in similar edifices in Tenerife and La Gomera, but much lower than in Gran Canaria. Average post-Miocene eruptive rates were about 0.013–0.027 km3/ka in Lanzarote and 0.003–0.007 km3/ka in Fuerteventura. All these volcanic edifices show a similar general sequence (fissural eruptions, erosion, multi-vent volcanism), repeated at different periods in different parts of the eastern islands of the Canaries. The model of growth of the Series I edifices is comparable to those in Tenerife and La Gomera: long periods of activity, sometimes greater than 6 m.y., with pulses separated by gaps. However, salic and intermediate differentiates, frequent in Tenerife and La Gomera, are very scarce in these islands. The Fuerteventura-Lanzarote ridge shows a decrease in volcanic activity with time, and also a certain SSW-NNE polarity in the temporal development of volcanism.

The Canary Islands origin: a unifying model

Abstract A new model, partially based on the three most widely cited previous hypotheses, is proposed to explain the genesis of the Canary Islands. From the hotspot hypothesis it retains the notion that the islands originated from a thermal anomaly in the mantle. From the propagating fracture hypothesis it takes the critical role of regional fractures in the onset of magmatism. The uplifted block hypothesis contributes with the notion that the islands are in their present freeboard attitude due to the action of tectonic forces. The main drawbacks of the three preceding hypotheses are solved within this unifying approach: the thermal anomaly is an upper mantle residue from an old plume, and therefore it does not carry (or does it in a highly diluted form) the typical geophysical and geochemical plume signatures; the fractures are well developed on the continental and oceanic crust, but not in the extremely thick sedimentary pile between the Canary Islands and Africa; and the Canary Islands uplift took place through transpressive shears, and not by means of purely reverse faults. This unifying model, which integrates the thermal and tectonic histories of the lithosphere and the sublithospheric mantle, is considered to be a valid approach to a number of volcanic areas where, as has been highlighted in recent years, pure hotspot or pure fracture models are found wanting to explain oceanic or (less frequently) continental volcanic lines.

Constructive and destructive episodes in the building of a young Oceanic Island, La Palma, Canary Islands, and genesis of the Caldera de Taburiente

The results of new field observations, 23 new KAr determinations and sixteen previously published determinations provide the basis for the reconstruction of the subaerial volcanic history of the island of La Palma, after the seamount activity represented by the materials of the Basal Complex. An eruptive phase between 2.0 and 1.3 Ma formed a large shield. A period of volcanic quiescence followed, until around 1 Ma, during which a large lateral collapse partly destroyed the former edifice. Between 1.05 and 0.7 Ma, activity was renewed in the shield and a N-S ridge was built in the southern part of the island. Around 0.7 Ma, two new large lateral collapses affected the western part of both edifices, and they were followed by eruptions between 0.71 and 0.65 Ma which built a new edifice that partly filled the depressions thus created. The Caldera de Taburiente constitutes the eroded remnants of the depression formed in the northern shield. From 0.65 Ma to present, activity has been restricted to the N-S ridge, which has continued to grow southwards. There was a general N-S migration of volcanic activity with time, but in the shield the trend was northwest to southeast. Eruptive rates seem to have been fairly constant during the different eruptive phases considered, between 0.15 and 0.37 km3/ka. A very similar succession of constructive and destructive episodes has been obtained for the neighboring island of Hierro, but in this case the activity started around 0.8 Ma and eruptive rates were about 0.5 km3/ka.

Volcanic complexes in the eastern ridge of the Canary Islands: the Miocene activity of the island of Fuerteventura

Abstract Fuerteventura has been since early stages of its growth the result of three different adjacent large volcanic complexes: Southern, Central and Northern. The definition of these volcanic complexes and their respective growing episodes is based on volcano-stratigraphic, morphological and structural criteria, particularly radial dyke swarms. Each complex has its own prolonged history that might be longer than 10 m.y. During that time, several periods of activity alternating with gaps accompanied by important erosion took place. The evolution of each volcanic complex has been partially independent but all the three are affected by at least three Miocene tectonic phases that controlled considerably their activity. The volcanic complexes are deeply eroded and partially submerged. In the core of the Northern and the Central volcanic complexes there is a set of submarine and plutonic rocks intensely traversed by a dyke swarm, known as the Basal Complex. The Basal Complex has been interpreted in different ways but all previous authors have considered it to be prior to the subaerial shield stage of the island. Here we advance the idea that the Basal Complex represent the submarine growing stage of the volcanic complexes and the hypabyssal roots (plutons and dykes) of their successive subaerial growing episodes. Two seamounts situated nearby, southwest of the island, might be interpreted as remains of two other major volcanoes. These two volcanoes, together with those forming the present emerged island of Fuerteventura, and finally those of Famara and Los Ajaches situated further north on Lanzarote constitute a chain of volcanoes located along a lineation which is subparallel to the northwestern African coastline and which may relate to early Atlantic spreading trends in the area.

The felsic dikes of La Gomera (Canary Islands): identification of cone sheet and radial dike swarms

On the northern part of La Gomera there exists a great abundance of trachytic–phonolitic dikes showing a broad diversity in dip and strike. Several methods have been applied in order to separate these dikes in different sets, localise the area from where they derive, and reconstruct the geometry of the swarms. The oldest dikes correspond to a radial swarm dated at 8 Ma. The felsic activity migrated then southwestwards and a second radial swarm and a cone sheet complex were developed between 7.5 and 6.4 Ma ago. The cone sheet complex is 10 km in diameter and shared its centre with that of the second radial structure. The cone sheets exhibit an outward decrease of dip angle whilst every individual sheet maintains a constant inclination. This geometry reflects the existence of an ancient single dome-shaped shallow magma chamber situated some 1650 m below present sea level. The eastern radial swarm represents a felsic episode that could mark the ending of the Lower Old Basalts, the earlier subaerial activity of La Gomera. The two other dike swarms represent a younger episode coeval with the Upper Old Basalts.