Last week we transected the Apulian crust through the Ivrea-Verbano Zone to the Insubric Line. The Insubric Line is the suture between the Apulian crust that makes up Italy and the European continent. Within this suture zone is a sliver of oceanic crust zone known as the Sesia-Lanzo Zone. The Sesia Lanzo and other units of […]
I recently returned from a trip to the Central Alps in Italy and Switzerland. All things considered, the Alps might be my favorite mountain range to visit. It has the incredible relief of the Andes and Himalaya (almost), accessibility of the Rockies, and food of … Italy! The Alpine mountain chain extends basically along the […]
The last and current stage of volcanism on Tenerife is the post-caldera rejuvenation stage. This is primarily characterized by the stratovolcano of Mt Teide (12,198 ft) and its lower neighbor Pico-Viejo. These two stratovolcanoes are primarily trachytic and phonolitic in composition and are built upon a common basanitic and basaltic base. The most recent activity […]
Once the Old Basaltic shield-building eruptions found in Anaga and Teno merged into a single massif the shield experienced two to three million years of erosion. The post-erosion phase began with a new volcanic edifice was erupting in the center of the island between 3.2 and 0.17 Ma. This second stage is known as the Cañadas succession. […]
Ocean island or hotspot volcanos generally go through several distinct magmatic phases. The shield stage represents the first stage major episode of magmatism and nearly 95% of the volcano is formed during this stage. The rate of eruption is also maximized during the shield stage and is dominated by tholeiitic basaltic eruptions. Following the shield […]
