El Hierro, the island that moved in 2011
In 2011 El Hierro recorded thousands of earthquakes and a submarine eruption south of La Restinga. It was the first eruptive episode in the Canaries in forty years and it left two things: a lesson in volcanic monitoring, and an island that remains, geologically, the youngest in the archipelago.
What happened
Over months the island accumulated thousands of low-magnitude earthquakes, the signature of magma moving. The eruption happened under the sea, south of La Restinga, not on land: there was no lava flow over ground and no settlements buried.
There were visible consequences: the water changed colour and temperature from the gases and material emitted, floating material appeared, and fishing and diving were suspended while it lasted.
The episode was declared over without the volcano ever emerging.
What remains today
- A monitoring network far more developed than before 2011, which is what makes it possible to know what is happening beneath the island.
- Normality: tourism, diving and fishing all operate.
- And the geological fact: El Hierro is the youngest island in the Canaries, which means its relief is abrupt, its seabed drops vertically and its ground has seen little erosion.
Why this matters to a visitor
Not because of risk — there is monitoring and no ongoing activity — but because it explains the island. Everything that makes El Hierro special comes from being young:
- The bottom dropping within metres of the shore, which is the basis of its diving.
- The lack of large beaches, because there has been no time to erode sand.
- The steep relief and short, sharp changes in altitude.
- The shape of the island, which is what remains of a huge landslide: the bay of El Golfo is an amphitheatre open to the sea, and that is not a valley, it is a scar.
What not to do
Look for «the volcano» as an attraction. It is under the sea, there is nothing to see on the surface, and what you visit are the effects: the coast, the seabed and the landscape of a newly made island.
Frequently asked questions
›Is it dangerous to travel to El Hierro because of the volcano?
There is no ongoing eruptive activity and the island has had a highly developed monitoring network since 2011. Tourism, diving and fishing all operate normally.
›Can you see the 2011 volcano?
Not on the surface: the eruption was submarine, south of La Restinga, and the volcano never emerged. What you visit are the effects of being a young island: the vertical drop offshore, the abrupt relief and the scar of El Golfo.
›Why does El Hierro have so few sandy beaches?
Because it is the youngest island in the archipelago and there has been no geological time to erode sand and form broad beaches. That same fact gives it its underwater wall and its steep relief.