A Paradise in Twilight

Spring landscape of Tenerife’s high altitude areas, on the slopes of the spectacular Teide volcano, the Canary Islands, some 400 km off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. The first morning lights appear over the cloud-covered ocean, while the Earth shadow (the blue band) sinks to the horizon behind the volcano. The red-pink band above the shadow is due to back scattering of reddened light from the rising Sun and is named the Belt of Venus. Mt Teide reaches over 3700m above the ocean, making this the highest point in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the highest peak in Spain. Click on the second photo to see a closer view of the mountain and the Earth shadow.