A series of six earthquakes occurred in the Enmedio volcano area, located between Gran Canaria and Tenerife, in less than an hour on Wednesday, as reported by the National Geographic Institute (IGN). The earthquakes were recorded between 11:14 and 11:40 a.m., with magnitudes ranging from 2.6 to 2 on the mbLg scale. The depths varied from 26 kilometres for the shallowest quake to 38 kilometres for the deepest.
The director of the IGN in the Canary Islands, Itahiza Domínguez, stated that “it is still too early to know what might happen,” but emphasized that the area is far from populated regions and should not pose any danger. It remains uncertain whether this seismic activity is connected to the 3.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Gran Canaria the previous day, which was classified as intensity III-IV.
Domínguez acknowledged that the recent earthquake was larger than usual for that region, marking the strongest in the past 60 years. However, he noted that earthquakes of this nature tend to occur every few years in Gran Canaria and its surrounding areas. He also mentioned a historical precedent from 1913, when an intensity VI earthquake, estimated to have been around magnitude 4.5, was recorded.
According to Domínguez, the recent earthquake is likely an isolated event, as it only had one aftershock 50 minutes later, measuring 1.4 mbLg. He dismissed any connection to volcanic activity, explaining that volcanic earthquakes typically occur in “dense swarms,” with tens or hundreds happening within an hour.
Regarding the seismic activity around the Enmedio volcano, Domínguez mentioned that the IGN is currently involved in the Guanche Project, which aims to understand the nature of this activity. The challenge lies in the depth at which these earthquakes occur, deep within the Earth’s mantle.
The working hypothesis is that the seismicity is more related to crustal tensions rather than the Enmedio volcano itself. The origin of the Enmedio volcano remains uncertain; it is unknown whether it formed from a single eruption or multiple events, and its most recent activity is also unclear.
