321 Years On: Arafo Volcano's Lasting Scar on Tenerife's Güímar Valley

Last week marked 321 years since the Las Arenas volcano, also known as the Arafo volcano, erupted. This event, according to Güímar historian Octavio Rodríguez Delgado, was the final part of three major eruptions in the Güímar Valley. It permanently changed the area's landscape, history, and the memories of its people.

The eruption began on February 2, 1705, which happened to be the feast day of the Virgin of Candelaria. Rodríguez Delgado recounts that the basilica shook during the celebrations. People were so worried that the lava might reach the Virgin's statue that they moved it to safety. Many important figures were present at the time, including representatives from the Cabildo de La Laguna, church leaders, and other authorities.

The Arafo eruption was the third and last in a series of volcanic events. It followed eruptions from the Siete Fuentes volcano in Arico in late 1704 and the Fasnia volcano a few weeks later. These eruptions caused nearly four months of worry across Tenerife. Just a year later, in May 1706, the island faced another disaster when the Arenas Negras Volcano erupted, burying the port of Garachico. This meant Tenerife experienced four significant volcanic events in just six years.

The Arafo eruption started when a crack opened in the Caldera de Pedro Gil, about 1,400 meters high. From there, hot, glowing material flowed down through the Barranco de Arafo, a natural gully, completely covering it. Rodríguez Delgado explained that unlike the Fasnia eruption, where lava stayed within the riverbed, the Arafo lava spread out in many directions. Three main streams of lava moved forward: one headed for the center of Arafo, impacting areas like El Carmen and San Francisco Javier; another went towards Güímar, directly threatening places such as Chacaica; and a third, shorter stream stopped in the middle ground.

The moving lava destroyed fountains, natural springs, and important farmland. It cut off the water supply to the town and formed a rocky barrier that forever separated Arafo and Güímar. The damage wasn't just to property; the island also experienced weeks of strong earthquakes. Canarian historian Agustín Millares Torres documented continuous tremors, which shook the ground up to twelve times a day, lasting until the end of March.

Records from that time show at least sixteen people died, mostly from panic or collapsing houses, especially in the La Orotava Valley where the tremors were very strong. Rodríguez Delgado noted that people were so scared by the volcano's loud roars that they slept outside in orchards, afraid their homes would fall down.

This "smoking scar," as the researcher called it, permanently changed the Valley. It forced people from Arafo to move to the El Llano area, where the San Juan Degollado chapel had been built many years before. Today, over three centuries later, with no one left who remembers the event firsthand, the hardened lava flows, rocky fields, and the path of the old gully remain a lasting mark on Tenerife's landscape, reminding us of the Canary Islands' ongoing geological activity.