Masca Gorge

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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.

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Geology

View of Barranco de Masca in the golden hour. Masca Gorge view towards north-west, sunset (Dec 2014).jpg
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]

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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″N16°51′04″W / 28.295°N 16.851°W / 28.295; -16.851