Friday, 10 January 2014

La Geria: Lanzarote's Volcanic Vineyards

image credit: Ramón Durán

When volcanic activity caused the emergence of the Spanish island of Lanzarote 15 million years ago it was a desolate, lifeless place. Settled only three thousand years ago, the island's volcano could still erupt again.

Although the last major eruptions started in 1730 over a period of six whole years and the volcano has been dormant since 1824, even today agricultural exploitation of the island is a difficult process. Yet in the La Geria region of the island, farmers have come up with an ingenious way to grow their grapes.

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