Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN/@parquegalapagos
This footage shows lava from a volcano lighting up the sky in the Galapagos Islands after an eruption.
The footage was taken of the La Cumbre volcano on the Fernandina Island in the Galapagos Islands, western Ecuador which began erupting at 6.15 pm yesterday (Sunday), according to a report by park guards and local tourist guides.
The National Galapagos Park confirmed that the volcano began new activity on Sunday.
The images show the lava at the top of the volcano pouring down the slopes and lighting up the evening sky.
Reports state a radial crack on the southeastern edge of the volcano allowed the lava to seep through and flow down to the coast.
La Cumbre is a shield volcano which stands 1,476 metres (4,843 feet) high and last erupted on 17th June 2018. Shield volcanoes are wide volcanoes with shallow, sloping sides.
On Sunday afternoon, the Geophysical Institute of the Polytechnic National School warned the seismic activity of the volcano was increasing allowing the environmental authorities to be on alert, the national park reported in a press statement.
Fernandina is one of the youngest islands of the group of Galapagos Islands. It is of ecological importance as its habitats include unique species such as earth and marine iguanas, rats, and penguins among others. The island is reportedly uninhabited.
The managers of the national park will monitor the eruption process and will register the changes caused in the ecosystem after the eruption of the volcano.
The islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and their large number of endemic species were seen as key to British scientist Charles Darwin during the development of his theory of evolution.
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