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All Spain Tinajo Timanfaya National Park
AO Edited

Timanfaya National Park

Visit a surreal landscape so otherworldly NASA actually used it to train the Apollo 17 crew.

Tinajo, Spain

Added By
Kookaracha
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Timanfaya National Park   Tamara Kulikova/CC BY-SA 4.0
Timanfaya National Park   Tamara Kulikova/CC BY-SA 4.0
Caldera at the heart of Timanfaya   blinking idiot/CC BY-ND 2.0
Timanfaya National Park   Nikodem Nijaki/CC BY-SA 4.0
Timanfaya National Park   Justraveling.com/CC BY-SA 4.0
Lanzarote - Timanfaya - a lava tube   philoursmars
  Johan SWE / Atlas Obscura User
  Johan SWE / Atlas Obscura User
  Johan SWE / Atlas Obscura User
Lanzarote - Timanfaya - bubbly basalt   philoursmars
Lanzarote - Timanfaya   philoursmars
Tourist gather ‘round a geyser demonstration in the park   Andreas Tusche on Wikimedia
Panorama of Timanfaya at its most Martian   Gernot Keller on Wikipedia
Peering into the mouth of the eponymous Timanfaya Volcano   Jose A. Duarte Llorente on Wikipedia
Charco de los Ciclos region inside Timanfaya   Miriela Rodríguez on Wikimedia
Lanzarote’s barren Timanfaya   Miriela Rodríguez on Wikipedia
  Johan SWE / Atlas Obscura User
Lanzarote - Timanfaya - for a dromedary ride   philoursmars
  Johan SWE / Atlas Obscura User
  marialetiziamaggio / Atlas Obscura User
Lanzarote - Timanfaya   philoursmars
Lanzarote - Timanfaya   philoursmars
Lanzarote - Timanfaya   philoursmars
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About

Located in the southwest corner of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands is a hidden gem that has been wrought from Mother Nature's innards, yet looks descended directly from outer space: Timanfaya National Park. The park is located on Lanzarote, the fourth-largest island in the Spanish archipelago. It is a habitat to several rare plant species, which led UNESCO to declare it a World Biosphere Reserve.

Most famously, the park's Fire Mountains rose to prominence during a peak in the area's volcanic activity between 1730 and 1736, when over 100 volcanoes covering more than 50 square kilometers erupted on the island, devastating local villages. The last recorded eruption occurred in 1824, and only one active volcano remains on the island, from which the park draws its name.

What was left in this geologic wake is a surreal, barren landscape that almost looks like it has been turned inside-out in spots, where heavy metals have been drawn directly from the earth's core. Yet other areas of the park have evolved into a habitat uniquely its own; home to several rare plant species, the whole of Lanzarote including Timanfaya was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1993.

Taken as a whole, the park totals nearly twenty square-miles demonstrating extreme surface temperatures, within the range of 400 and 600 degrees Celsius just a few meters below the surface. All of these features made it an ideal proving ground for extraterrestrial projects. NASA identified these special qualities early on, and showed pictures of Timanfaya when training astronauts for their Apollo 17 expedition to the moon.

For the rest of us mere mortals, these extreme underground temperatures are easily demonstrated simply by pouring water into the ground, which results in a geyser of steam. This stunt is one of the most popular among park visitors, partly for the grounding effect it has; against a vast backdrop of landscapes so varied and otherworldly, it can be easy to lose touch with the fact that Timanfaya is a real place, and this little trick reminds tourists in a tangible way that,  yes, nature really just is that majestic. 

Related Tags

National Parks Martian Landscapes Nasa Unesco Volcanoes Ecosystems Geology

Community Contributors

Added By

Kookaracha

Edited By

littlebrumble, Molly McBride Jacobson, philoursmars, Michelle Cassidy...

  • littlebrumble
  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • philoursmars
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • Johan SWE
  • marialetiziamaggio

Published

January 7, 2016

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Sources
  • http://www.discoverlanzarote.com/timanfaya.asp
  • http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/timanfaya/timanfaya-folleto-ingles_tcm7-288588.pdf
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timanfaya_National_Park
Timanfaya National Park
Tinajo, 35560
Spain
29.0, -13.733333
Visit Website

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