Protected landscape of the Siete Lomas

The Protected Landscape of the Seven Hills in a natural area comprising 1013.90 hectares around the municipalities of Güímar, Candelaria and Arafo on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain).

Features

This is an area of an eminently agrarian nature that occupies a narrow coastal strip in the middle of the Güímar Valley. Its main characteristic is a series of hills separated by ravines, more or less embedded, that extend from the summit to the sea. Self-supply agriculture, rudimentary and barely mechanized, is the main socioeconomic activity in the area. The plantations of potatoes, vineyards and fruit trees stand out, which are accessed by a complex network of tracks and trails. An element of interest is the abandoned La Hidro hydroelectric plant, which supplied electricity to half the municipality, using the energy produced by a significant difference in level in the conduction of water from the galleries in the area. In the upper part of the Siete Lomas there is a thick laurel forest which, although somewhat deteriorated, is an example of this type of Macaronesian habitat. The farmlands are mostly formed by the pozzolanic layer of the great eruption of Granadilla that covered the entire southern band of the island. Farmers, in a process that lasts hundreds of years, have terraced the land, forming a typical staggered area where they proceed to harvest.

Geology

It is made up mainly of Series III basaltic flows, although there are also deposits of Series II and III pumice, and older Series II basaltic series. All these materials have surfaced and today they are exposed by the action of erosion, although there are some more recent ones where this process has not yet been able to act. These materials belong to the eruptions of Media Montaña (Series IV) and the las Arenas or Arafo volcano that occurred in 1705.

Vegetation

The agricultural area is dominated by the farmers' own plantations (vines, potatoes, fruit trees,...). In the most recent flows there is an interesting community of lichens. These, which constitute the first step for soil formation, are accompanied in certain areas by specimens of pines (Pinus canariensis) and cruets (Rumex lunaria). However, in the steepest areas, typical species of the thermophilic forest predominate and the occasional species in danger of extinction, such as the rock cabbage (Crambe arborea).

Wildlife

In the fauna section, the invertebrates linked to recent lava flows are characteristic of the place. Some birds of prey such as the common buzzard or 'hawk' (Buteo buteo insularum) or the common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) are also observed.