Estudio vulcanológico y qeoquímico del maar de la Caldera del Rey. Tenerife (Canarias)

Abstract

In this study a cartographic, morphological, geochemical and petrographic study is made of the ''Caldera del Rey". The "Caldera del Rey" is a volcanic structure formed by two overlapping maars, The second one (maar) that was formed is of greaten dimensions and destroyed part of the first one, Both maars erupted throught a possible fracture N 35 E, which is one of the directions with regional importance in the Archipelago. The eruption, which was very explosive, has been thought to be due in part to the great importance of the gaseous phase of the salic magma and also to the steam produced during the interaction of the magma with underground water. This explosivity can be clearly seen in the cleaf resalte cul out in the "Serie Basáltica Antigua" to some extent penetrated and fragmented by the eruption, The phreatomagmatic character of the eruption is evident because of the existence of accretionary lapilli. The materials emitted are exc1usively of aerial projection: agglomerates, tuffs cinerites. There was no flow of lava. ' Some of the fragments of tuffs as cinerites and pumice are comagmatic. These correspond to salic trachytic phonolitic rocks, which represent one of the last stages of differentiation of the alkaline oceanic magmas. The geochemical character of the materials of the "Caldera del Rey" is characteristic and can be easily distinguished from other nearly salic deposits formed in different cycles.