Lava en el Entorno de la Cueva de Los Vientos

Cueva del Viento ("Wind Cave") is the largest

lava tube A lava tube, more rarely called a pyroduct, is a 'roofed conduit through which molten lava travels away from its vent'. If lava in the tube drains out, it will leave an empty cave. Lava tubes are common in low-viscosity volcanic systems. La ...

system in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the sixth largest in the world, behind a series of lava tubes in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. It is also considered the most complex volcanic tube in the world, due to its morphology of several levels and passages. It was created by lava flows from Pico Viejo, next to Mount Teide. The cave is located in the town of

Icod de los Vinos Icod de los Vinos is a municipality in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands (Spain), located in the northwestern part of the island. Inhabitants of Icod are known in Spanish as ''"icodenses"''. ...

in the north of the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It extends more than and contains three different levels of passageways, each full of geomorphological phenomena such as lava pits and terraces. The cave is rich in

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s of the " Canarian megafauna". Bones of ''

Gallotia goliath ''Gallotia goliath'' (the Tenerife giant lizard or goliath Tenerife lizard) is an extinct giant lizard species from the island of Tenerife of the Canary Islands, Spain. This reptile lived before the arrival of humans and is believed to have gro ...

'' and ''

Canariomys bravoi The Tenerife giant rat (''Canariomys bravoi'') is an extinct species of rodent endemic to the island of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, Spain. Many remains have been found during archeological digs. Most remains are from the Pleistoc ...

'', an extinct giant lizard and rat, respectively, have been discovered here. Archaeological remains belonging to the

Guanches The Guanche were the Indigenous peoples, indigenous inhabitants of the Spain, Spanish Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean some to the west of modern Morocco and the North African coast. The islanders spoke the Guanche language, which i ...

, the ancient

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

native inhabitants of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, were found in several entries to the tube system. At present, the Cueva del Viento is a tourist attraction of the island.

References

External links

Cueva del Viento, Official Website
{{Coord, 28, 20, 48, N, 16, 43, 20, W, region:ES-TF_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Show caves in Spain Viento Lava tubes Geography of Tenerife Tourist attractions in Tenerife Viento Volcanism of the Canary Islands

See also

References

External links