22 earthquakes recorded in new seismic zone in Tenerife
The Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN) has confirmed a seismic swarm of 22 small earthquakes on Tenerife in the past 24 hours, concentrated between Izaña and the highlands of La Orotava.
According to Ithaiza Domínguez, director of the IGN in the Canary Islands, the activity is considered normal for volcanic environments, but he described it as “peculiar” because it is taking place in a newly active seismic area that only began showing movement this year.
Domínguez stressed there are no signs of magma intrusion, such as those detected before the 2021 eruption on La Palma, and said the tremors were weak, scattered over time, and to be expected in a volcanic setting.
Similar clusters of tremors have been recorded in La Orotava earlier this year, and the IGN has confirmed it will continue to monitor the situation closely.
The earthquakes measured between 0.6 and 2 on the Richter scale and occurred between 10:00am yesterday and 8:10am today (Tuesday), at an average depth of around seven kilometres.
Experts emphasise that while such seismic swarms are part of the natural dynamics of Tenerife’s volcanic system, they do not indicate any imminent eruption.
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