Masca Gorge (Spanish: Barranco de Masca) is a narrow valley in the north-west of the island of Tenerife.[1] The gorge is situated within the Teno Massif. The gorge is a popular tourist destination due to its dramatic scenery and unique geology.[2] An eight-kilometre long walking trail begins at Masca village and continues for the length of the gorge[3] to finish at Masca beach (Spanish: Playa de Masca), approximately ten kilometres from the north-west tip of Tenerife.

Geology

Taken at approximately 5:40pm on December 15th, 2014
View of Barranco de Masca in the golden hour.

Masca Gorge is found within the Teno Massif, a Miocene-age volcanic formation composed of basaltic lava flows.[4] Much of the gorge itself is formed by steeply-dipping volcanic flows. These flows are generally less than a metre thick and mostly basaltic with scoriaceous inclusions.[5] The flows have subsequently been intruded by several swarms of dykes, many of which form cross-cutting relationships.

A particular formation of interest is the Masca Unconformity. The unconformity consists of a polymictite breccia that varies in both thickness and dip angle depending on location. Within Masca Gorge, the breccia may be 10 – 15 metres, thick, and dip at an angle of 30 - 60 degrees to the north.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Wolfsperger, Klaus; Miehle-Wolfsperger, Annette (2002). Randonnées sur Ténérife: 70 randonnées sélectionnées le long des côtes et dans les montagnes de l'"Ile des Bienheureux" ; [les plus belles randonnées entre mer et montagne] (in Spanish). Bergverlag Rother GmbH. pp. 89–. ISBN 9783763349043. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Nicholas Roe, "Tenerife: rugged good looks", The Independent, 2011
  3. ↑ "Barranco de Masca", Geocaching, 2009
  4. ↑ Leonhardt and Soffel, "The growth, collapse and quiescence of Teno volcano, Tenerife", International Journal of Earth Sciences, 2009
  5. ↑ Longpre et al., "Volcanic and geochemical evolution of the Teno Massif, Tenerife, Canary Islands (1. Introduction)", American Geophysical Union, 2009
  6. ↑ Longpre et al., "Volcanic and geochemical evolution of the Teno Massif, Tenerife, Canary Islands (4.2: Description of Stratigraphic Units: Masca Unconformity)", American Geophysical Union, 2009

28°17′42″N 16°51′04″W / 28.295°N 16.851°W / 28.295; -16.851

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