The Cumbre Vieja volcano has now been erupting for more than two months, continuing to generate lava flows and earthquakes on the Spanish island of La Palma. It has also been spewing millions of cubic meters of volcanic ash into the air, and as the ash falls, it blankets the nearby landscape. The ash can fall like hail or drift like dust, and it piles up and drifts in the wind, covering houses, farms, and forests. Some removal work has taken place, to clear roads and ease the strain on sagging rooftops, but more ash continues to fall. The following photographs from La Palma show what some of the volcano’s neighbors have been coping with over the past few weeks.
Buried in Volcanic Ash, Scenes from the Canary Islands
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![A house is nearly completely covered by ash, seen on a large ash-covered hillside beneath an erupting volcano.]()
Read moreA house is covered by ash from the Cumbre Vieja volcano as it continues to erupt on La Palma, one of Spain's Canary Islands, on October 30, 2021. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP -
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![Steam and ash rise from the summit of a volcano.]()
Read moreThe Cumbre Vieja volcano continues to erupt on November 12, 2021. #
Dan Kitwood / Getty -
![Dark ash piles up on top of, and alongside, a house.]()
Read moreAsh covers a house on La Palma, seen on November 1, 2021. #
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![Ash half-covers a gravestone.]()
Read moreAsh covers gravestones at the La Palma cemetery on October 29, 2021. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP -
![A person walks out of a house, climbing up a small dune of ash.]()
Read moreCristina Vera leaves her house covered with ash after collecting her last belongings in La Palma on November 1, 2021. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP -
![Trees and rocks appear in an ash-covered landscape.]()
Read moreTrees and rocks appear in an ash-covered landscape of La Palma on November 10, 2021. #
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![Chairs on the terrace of a house sit half-buried in ash.]()
Read moreChairs on the terrace of a house sit buried in ash on October 30, 2021. #
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![Ash piles up alongside buildings.]()
Read moreAsh piles up alongside buildings on November 17, 2021. #
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![Only the top part of an outdoor lantern appears above accumulated ash.]()
Read moreOnly the top part of an outdoor lantern appears above accumulated ash on La Palma on November 17, 2021. #
Andres Gutierrez / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A narrow funnel cloud draws bits of ash into the air near the volcano's summit.]()
Read moreAsh is whipped into a whirlwind during the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on November 17, 2021. #
Andres Gutierrez / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A person uses a blower to move ash from the tiled roof of a house.]()
Read moreA team clears ash from a roof on November 11, 2021. #
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![Ash partially covers a two-door gate.]()
Read moreAsh covers the entrance of a house, photographed on October 28, 2021. #
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![Wind-sculpted ripples appear in fallen ash.]()
Read moreWind-sculpted ripples appear in fallen ash on La Palma on November 10, 2021. #
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![Soldiers remove ash from the roof of a house.]()
Read moreSpanish-army soldiers remove ash from the roof of a house on October 29, 2021. #
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![Fountains of lava appear behind a residential neighborhood.]()
Read moreThe Cumbre Vieja volcano erupts, as seen from El Paso, La Palma, on October 25, 2021. #
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![Only the chimney of a house is visible, poking up above smooth hills of accumulated ash.]()
Read moreA house is covered by ash, seen on October 30, 2021. #
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![An aerial view of small trees poking up through a thick blanket of ash.]()
Read moreAsh covers the ground near the volcano on October 29, 2021. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP -
![A person walks out of their ash-covered house as a volcano erupts in the background.]()
Read moreCristina Vera leaves her ash-covered house, after gathering belongings, on November 1, 2021. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP
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