The reason why the La Palma volcano has no name and what it will be called

The volcano that erupted on September 19, 2021 on the island of La Palma is known as Cumbre Vieja because that is the name of the area where it is located, but it does not yet have an official name .

The Cumbre Vieja Natural Park was created in 1987 and covers the entire south-central part of the Canary Island. As the days passed, the volcano adopted the name of Cabeza de Vaca since it is the name of the exact area where the eruption point is located.

In general, these natural phenomena usually adopt the name of the place where they erupt. However, this time it seems that it will not. The volcano will not be called Cumbre Vieja or Cabeza de Vaca , but other options related to the culture and history of La Palma are being considered.

The names that the La Palma volcano could have

Jedey

The Canarian geologist Francisco García-Talavera has proposed the name of Jedey, a well-known Guanche warrior . In addition, this is how one of the areas closest to the eruption is called, which is located within the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane.

If so called, it would be the fifth island volcano with a Guanche name , after Tacande (1430-1440), Tehuya (1585), Tigalate (1646) and Teneguía (1971).

Tajogaite

Another of the proposed names is Tajogaite, and there are already several Canarian media that are using it to refer to the volcano. It is the exact point where the first crack through which the magma emerged was located. A site that, according to the aboriginal language, means “cracked mountain .”

For now, there is no decision made. You have to wait to know the final name that the volcano will receive . Although at first the name “Cabeza de Vaca” was the most widespread, it has been losing weight over the days.

What is clear is that the name will take a long time to arrive . The underwater volcano of El Hierro, which erupted in October 2011 and lasted six months, was not named Tagoro until May 2016.

At 23:00 (Canarian time) on Tuesday, September 28, the lava from the La Palma volcano has reached the sea . It has done so on the coast of the town of Tazacorte, giving rise to an impressive deposit of more than 50 meters high.