Click on the image for licensing terms
One of the strangest landscapes in a region of strange landscapes, this is the Minas de San Jose in the Teide National Park, high on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
When my wife and I chose Tenerife for our week long winter break in January 2020 it wasn't in order to lie on a beach or sit by a pool, but rather to spend the time exploring the amazing volcanic geology and eco-systems the Tenerife has in abundance once you get away from the tourist hotspots.
So it was up and away in our little hire car, climbing up through the wonderful forests of cloud pines until we reached the ortherworldy Teide National Park, above the clouds at 6,500 feet above sea level.
We'd been here before on previous visits to Tenerife, but that sense of amazement as the massive caldera of the ancient Las Canadas volcano opens out in front of you and you wonder if you haven't arrived on Mars by mistake, is just as fresh as it ever was.
Driving along the TF-21, the road that traverses the park, we soon came to the greenish pumice landscape at the Minas de San Jose.
The ground is covered in a thick layer of fine pumice granules, the result of an eruption of the Montana Blanca volcano, punctuated by reddish lumps of cooled lava, and is just an amazing place to hike around, marvelling at the extraordinary geology on display.
So of course, that's what Liz and I did, photographing as we went, as you do!
Filename - tenerife teide rock 13
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 40mm
Exposure - 1/60 sec @ f/8, ISO100
Filters - Polarising filter used to enhance colours.
Location - Teide National Park, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Image enhancements - Adobe Lightroom
Comments - Handheld exposure with image stabilisation.
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.