May 5, 1706 Eruption of Tenerife

Name: May 5, 1706 Eruption of Tenerife
Start: 1706-05-05
Location: Tenerife, Spain

May 5, 1706 · VEI 2

Tenerife in Spain erupted on May 5, 1706 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Tenerife, Spain.

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The eruption

Date: May 5, 1706
Volcano: Tenerife, stratovolcano
Country: Spain
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Location: 28.271° N, 16.641° W

The toll

Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Start Date: 1706 May 5. Stop Date: 1706 Jun 13. Confirmed, VEI 2. Historical Observations. NW rift zone (Garachico). (Reference #2432)

[...] it was related with a fissure-type eruption that was located closer to Garachico. (reference #12938)

In 1706 lava from Tenerife buried the port town and harbor of Garachico, at the time the finest most frequented harbor on the island. (p. 278) (reference #6996)

Every eruption in 1706 The 1700s Tenerife Earthquakes near Tenerife This day in weather history

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 4374.