El Hierro Restingolitas sell on the Internet

Just off the coast of the island of El Hierro in the Canary Islands an undersea volcanic eruption has been making the news for the past couple of months but now a new development is getting reported. The volcanic rock known as pumice which is so light it can float on water is being brought up from the depths and being collected and sold on the Internet.

The coastal village in El Hierro closest to where the eruption has been taking place is La Restinga and fragments of pumice, possibly mixed with other rock, that have come from the volcanic activity in the seabed are being called "Restingolitas" after it. There are Restingolitas with mixtures of dark and light-coloured rock in them.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly, there are people out there who are willing to buy them as a volcanic slice of history being made.

Enterprising local people from El Hierro have taken advantage of what has so far mainly been a tragedy for the island by collecting the floating volcanic rock and selling it online. It has been reported that some eBay users have forked out as much as 400€ for a large Restingolita pumice rock, whilst smaller pieces sell for less with the cheapest going for around 20€.

Instead of fish the La Restinga fishermen are now catching these rocks in their nets. They are being marketed to tourists and the Spanish newspapers have said that the Casa Juan restaurant has gone as far as offering a "free piece of volcano" with every meal.

Meanwhile there are YouTube videos and Internet scare stories circulating linking the eruption with a potential mega-tsunami said to be a major threat to the coast of America if it is created. This highly speculative and alarmist fiction is not even using the right island because it was the neighbouring Canary island of La Palma that had been linked with this possibility some six years ago.

It had been suggested then by geologists that the south-western shelf of La Palma could fall into the sea and that this event would trigger a mega-tsunami with waves hundreds of metres in height. If this happened New York would be hit so badly it could be destroyed. It was thought that this could happen in the near future.

The story went out in the mainstream news at the time and has since spread and has now found its way into being intermixed with alarmist reports about El Hierro.

Pumice has many uses. This lightweight rock is used in making low density breeze blocks and in the production of cement.

It is also used as pumice stones as a traditional tool for use in the bathroom for cleaning dead and dry skin off the feet and elsewhere. It can be rubbed on calluses to help wear them away.

Pumice powder is added to some toothpastes and cleaners such as Lava Soap.

Pumice also has been used as a horticultural growing medium and in Tenerife it was a traditional covering for the ground to help prevent water evaporation in the heat. Up on Mt Teide there is loads of pumice and it is found elsewhere on the island.

El Hierro, which is usually the least reported on of all the Canary Islands, has been getting a lot of news coverage since the end of July when fears of a major eruption were started and since then there have been thousands of tremors. This is known as an earthquake swarm.

At the end of September residents in El Hierro were evacuated from some parts and the army were on standby just in case. Then it all seemed to be safe again although now renewed activity has begun.

It is possible an eighth Canary Island is being born but no one can really say for sure what will happen. It is really quite exciting don't you think?

Copyright © 2011 Steve Andrews. All Rights Reserved.