The natural tube
A wide lava tunnel in rust and black.
Lviatour — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Alberto-g-rovi — CC BY 4.0
**A natural lava tube walked for a kilometre underground — in which islanders hid from pirate raids for centuries** — in northern Lanzarote. ⚠ **How it formed**: **a lava tube** — **a river of lava running beneath a solidified crust**, ✅ **which then drained away and left a hollow tunnel**; **the whole tube runs **six kilometres** from the Montaña Corona crater to the sea**, ⚠ **and continues **two kilometres below sea level****. ⚠ **Its human history**: **between the 16th and 18th centuries the islanders took refuge in it** — **with their livestock** — ✅ **from pirate raids and enslavement**; **and their hiding places are shown**. ✅ **The lighting and the route are Manrique's design** — ⚠ **with no decorated caverns**: **light that brings out the rock itself**. ⚠ **And there is a visual surprise at the end that should not be spoiled.**
A wide lava tunnel in rust and black.
Where islanders sheltered from pirates.
Light that reveals the rock itself without decoration.
Carretera Arrecife-Orzola, 35520 Haria, Las Palmas, Spain
**A lava river builds its own roof, then runs beneath it and drains — leaving a perfect natural tunnel.** ✅ **Stage one — the crust**: **fluid basaltic lava runs across the surface as a river** — ⚠ **and its surface, in contact with the air, **cools far faster** than its interior**; ✅ **so the surface solidifies and **a rock roof** forms**, **while the inside stays hot and liquid**. ✅ **Stage two — insulation**: ⚠ **and rock is an excellent thermal insulator** — **so the solidified roof traps the heat inside**; ✅ **the lava beneath stays liquid and runs very long distances** — **further than it could in the open**; **which explains a tube six kilometres long**. ✅ **Stage three — drainage**: ⚠ **when the eruption stops or the source shifts**, **what is in the tube keeps running forward until it empties** — ✅ **leaving **a hollow tunnel** with roof, walls and floor**. ⚠ **Collapses come later**: **parts of the roof fall in over time** — ✅ **and each collapse opens a *jameo***; **and Jameos del Agua and the Cueva de los Verdes are two points on **the same tube****. ✅ **Distinctive marks are visible inside**: **«strand lines» on the walls** — **recording the levels the lava ran at**; **frozen drips from the roof**, **and a smooth rippled floor**.
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