Evidence of tsunami in the Canaries discovered

Researchers claim to have discovered evidence of the tsunami that is likely to have hit Lanzarote in 1755, caused by the Lisbon earthquake.

A team from the University of La Laguna, the Tenerife Natural Science Museum and the UNED discovered large blocks of basalt that had been swept inland in the area of Punta del Cochino and Punta del Volcán Nuevo, on the north-west coast of Lanzarote.

They claim that only a tsunami could have had the force to move the boulders, and that lava deposits from the last two volcanic eruption periods in Timanfaya allows them to date the movement of the rocks to between 1730 and 1824.

The Lisbon earthquake occurred on November 1^st, 1755, destroying much of the Portuguese capital and killing around 30-40,000 people. The resulting tsunami also caused widespread damage, reaching almost 200 metres inland.

Researchers believe that the tsunami, widely documented at the time, is the most probable cause for the movement of the rocks.