The story of Teide

At 3,715 metres, the summit of Teide is the highest point in Spain and in the whole Atlantic Ocean. Measured from its base on the ocean floor it reaches about 7,500 metres, making it the third tallest volcano in the world. For a long time Europeans even believed it was the highest mountain on Earth.

Teide began forming about 170,000 years ago, after a catastrophic landslide, inside the Las Cañadas caldera, the remains of an older volcano. It is still active: its most recent eruption, in late 1909, came from the El Chinyero vent. For the Guanches it was a sacred mountain, home of Guayota, an evil being often shown as a black dog; during eruptions they lit bonfires to scare him away, and they believed Teide held up the sky.

In 1492 Columbus's crew said they saw flames coming from it. Look up at the peak from Las Cañadas, and imagine the Guanches' fires on its slopes.