ABSTRACT
In recent years, the geomechanical characterization of volcanic rocks in the Canary Islands has gained more attention due to systematic works on the wide spectrum of volcanic rocks in the entire Canary Archipelago (Rodriguez-Losada et al., 2007; Del Potro & Hurlimann, 2007). Thus, except for references in other volcanic areas (e.g. Chaplow, 1998; Apuani et al., 2005; Davies and Moon et al., 2005), previous works referred to geomechanical studies of volcanic rocks in the Canaries are scarce. Most of them were made by private construction and civil engineering companies without any later scientific relevance. In this sense, it is essential to be concerned about the role of the geomechanical characterization of rock masses as an essential tool to build approaches and models of ground stability in the context of geological hazard and particularly in volcanic hazard (Hürlimann, 1999; Hürlimann et al., 1999; Hürlimann et al., 2001; Thomas et al., 2004; Gonzalez de Vallejo & Ferrer, 2006; Malheiro, 2006; Rodriguez-Losada et al., 2007; among others).
