Project Description
Casa-Museo whose ground floor is built in the pahoehoe distal lavas of the Timanfaya eruption. It has very fluid lava flow characteristics and a profusion of small volcanic tubes and spectacular roped morphologies on the surface. Although it is a long lava flow, its cross section is small. Its black colour stands out on the landscape. The construction of the Casa-Museo took advantage of the existence of five large bubbles under the surface of the flow, which were used as rooms. These bubbles were probably generated by explosive processes caused by the sudden escape of water vapour. The origin of this water vapour may have been in the sudden evaporation of water from wells that were covered by lava. The connections between the bubbles are artificial. The roof of some of the bubbles has collapsed resulting in the formation of jameos.
This geosite is of major volcanological and secondary geomorphological type interest. The building which was constructed takes advantage of cavities in the lava, which is in itself a work of art by artist César Manrique. It was originally planned to be the home of the artist, and is currently a museum dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the work of this Canarian artist, who in 1987 wrote: “All my painting is volcanology and geology in its basic foundation.”