Talk:Caldera de Taburiente National Park

CALDERA

The Spanish word "Caldera" has the same meaning as the English word "Cauldron" meaning a "large bowl. The term caldera was first recorded in 1815 by the great German geologist - Leopold von Buch, who toured the archipelago. During his visit he was taken to a place "...Where the very ground looked as if it had been spewed out of the bowels of the Earth..." When he asked his guide what the place was called he was told "...Señor, this is the Caldera de las Cañadas..." He later visited La Palma and when he saw the caldera Taburiente he noted in his journal that "...Though it is called a caldera..." by his guides, "...It was immediately obvious that the processes that had created the Caldera de las Cañadas on Tenerife, had not been involved in the formation of the caldera Taburiente..." and he considered that "...The caldera was created by the very rocks being carried away by rivers and landslides..." The italics are quotes taken from the journal of von Buch. For a long time geologists referred to calderas and cauldrons in almost the same breath. The Glen Coe caldera in Scotland was called "The Glen Coe Cauldron" by Clough, Maufe and Bailey who first mapped it. Now the term is generally used by almost all geologists, but it actually originated in Tenerife as far as geology is concerned - La Palma came second.The Geologist (talk) 16:38, 3 December 2013 (UTC)