Teide
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| Teide | |
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 Pico de Teide from Cañada de los Guancheros at 2050 m at the northeast edge of the caldera. The yellowish foreground is pumice gravel, with Retama del Teide shrubs. Cloud blowing in on the northeast trade wind is normal between about 1000-2000 m altitude; here, the very top of the cloud evaporates rapidly as it enters the warm, dry, sun-heated caldera. Note also the thawing winter snow cover on the upper slopes. Photo early April.
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| Elevation: | 3,717 metres |
| Coordinates: | Template:Coor dms |
| Location: | Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain |
| Range: | Teide |
| First ascent: | Sir Edmund Scory in 1582 |
| Easiest route: | rock scramble |
Teide (Mount Teide or Pico de Teide) is a volcano and mountain on Tenerife, Canary Islands (28.27 N, 16.6 W). At 3717 m above sea level and approximately 7000m above the adjacent sea bed, it is the highest mountain in Spain, and the third largest volcano on Earth. It is currently dormant, having last erupted in 1909 from the subsidiary vent of Chinyero on the west slope of Teide. Other significant eruptions occurred in 1704-1706 and 1798. The summit has a number of small active fumaroles emitting hot sulfur dioxide and other gases. Further eruptions are considered likely in the future, including a risk of highly dangerous pyroclastic flows similar to those on Mount Pelée and Mount Vesuvius.
In prehistoric times, about 150,000 years B.P., a much larger explosive eruption occurred, probably of Volcanic Explosivity Index 7, creating Las Cañadas, a large caldera at just over 2000 m altitude, 15 km across east-west and 10 km north-south. On the south side, the internal crater walls rise as almost sheer cliffs from 2100 m to 2715 m at Guajara. The 3717 m summit of Teide itself, and its subsidiary vent Pico Viejo (3134 m), both in the northern half of the caldera, derive from eruptions subsequent to this prehistoric explosion.
The volcano and its surrounds, including the whole of the caldera, are protected in a national park, the Parque Nacional del Teide. Access is by a public road running across the caldera from northeast to southwest; a parador (hotel) is also within the National Park. A cable car (Teleférico Teide) goes from the roadside at 2356 m most of the way to the summit, reaching 3555 m.
Teide is also noted for a large number of endemic plants, including Cytisus supranubius (Retama del Teide, a species of broom), Echium wildpretii (Taginaste rojo, a spectacular species of bugloss reaching 3 m tall), and Erysimum scoparium, a species of wallflower. Lower down, the middle slopes from 1000-2000 m are clothed with forests of Pinus canariensis (Pino Canario or Canary Island pine).
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