At 3 volcanos in Spain there have been a total of 4 siginificant eruptions over the past 2000 years. The worst volcanic eruption in terms of deaths, destroyed houses and financial damages happened on 10/26/1971 at the volcano "La Palma".
All 3 volcanos in Spain are still considered as active.
Significant volcanic eruptions in Spain over the past 2000 years
The following list shows all volcanoes of the last 2000 years with significant damage. The column "VEI" stands for the volcano explosivity index, which represents the strength of the eruption from a geological point of view. This takes into account the height and volume of the rocks ejected. The scale ranges from 0-8, with the severity of the outbreak increasing tenfold with each value. For example, a VEI of 1 means that the volcano throws lava and rock masses of 100,000 to 1 million cubic metres up to 1 kilometre high. From VEI 8 a volcano is considered a super volcano. Here, more than 1000 cubic kilometers of tephra are thrown to altitudes of more than 25 kilometers.
The highest explosivity index in Spain was reached in the review period at VEI 2 in 1971. The volcano La Palma threw tephramasses of at least 1 million cubic metres over 1 kilometre high. Such small volcanic eruptions can theoretically occur several times a year.
Eruption
Volcano
VEI
Deaths
Total damage
10/26/1971
La Palma
2
0
09/01/1730
Lanzarote
2
0
05/05/1706
Tenerife
2
0
11/22/1677
La Palma
2
1
All volcanos in Spain
Volcano
Elevation
Status
Last eruption
Tenerife
3713 m
Active
05/05/1706
Palma
2423 m
Active
Lanzarote
671 m
Active
09/01/1730
These statistics are based on datas from the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP), and the Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database of the National Geophysical Data Center (NOAA) / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) doi:10.7289/V5JW8BSH. Several data have been summarized and translated.