Submarine Eruption of El Hierro, Geotourism and Geoparks

Abstract

AbstractThe year 2011 remained in the memory of the residents of the island of El Hierro (Canary Island, Spain) because of the volcanic episode that originated in its vicinity. From the beginning of the first precursory signs in July 2011, the island’s inhabitants reminded that the islands’ geological origin is volcanic and, what are the consequent threats of living on them. The eruption, however, has occurred in the marine realm leaving the only threats to the population, strong earthquakes, and diffuse emission of volcanic gases. The Tagoro eruption has not caused any loss of human life, however, its major impact indirectly affected the economy of the residents of the village of La Restinga, in whose vicinity the volcano originated. From a scientific point of view, the eruption has provided an enormous field of observation of the volcanic phenomenon. With the information obtained during the monitoring of the volcano, there is more insight into possible future eruptions. A volcanic product that has never been seen before (Restringolites) was found thanks to this eruption, which is why this volcano was so particular from a petrological point of view. The eruption affected the island's economy, and it also had negative consequences on Herreño tourism. The inhabitants of the island, wanting to recover the pre-eruptive economic levels and attract tourists, who, due to the false catastrophic descriptions about the eruption, stopped coming, have taken decisive steps. El Hierro, having peculiar geomorphological and geological characteristics, was the perfect candidate to obtain the Geopark status. In this way, the island of El Hierro, being the Biosphere Reserve since 2000, became also the Geopark since 2014.