Galapagos Eruption May Threaten Rare Wildlife

Lava can be seen flowing down La Cumbre's slopes in Saturday's aerial view to the lower left. The satellite image reveals a vast cloud of smoke and ash blowing southwestward from the volcano.

A volcanic eruption on one of the famed Galapagos Islands could pose a threat to the nature preserve’s unique wildlife, according to officials.

La Cumbre spewed lava, gas and smoke across the uninhabited island of Fernandina Saturday in the mountain’s first eruption in four years.

A spokesman for Ecuador’s Galapagos National Park, Oscar Carvajal, said that a river of lava was flowing from a 600-foot fissure on the side of the volcano.

A park statement said that lava from the current eruption could affect marine life as well as the unique iguanas and other fauna on Fernandina.

The flow stretched for a few miles in a single stream, then split into three branches before joining two other flows that were reaching the ocean.

Steam was clearly visible where the magma entered the water and solidified, according to the park statement.

Edwin Naula, head of Tourism Administration at the Park, confirmed that the eruption does not threaten tourist activities at Punta Espinosa, the only visitor site on Fernandina.

An enormous column of smoke soared high over the Galapagos, then blew westward across the Pacific Ocean. Volcanic activity is common in the Galapagos.

An eruption of Cerro Azul on Isabela Island late last May created a lava flow that traveled in the opposite direction from a colony of rare giant tortoises.

Photos courtesy Galapagos National Park (Ecuador) and NASA