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The Basics

The Basics
Fernandina Volcano is the most active and the youngest volcano found in the Galapagos Islands, approximately 700,000 located on the west side of Isabella making it one of the least visited islands. Fernandina is 642 km sq and 1476 meters high. The volcano erupts every few years and the last eruption was on May 13, 2005, in all having 14 eruptions in the last 37 years. Fernandina is a shield volcano formed by the Galapagos hotspot. The volcano was named in honor of King Fernando in Spain, who sponsored the voyage by Christopher Columbus. There is various wildlife on the volcano including; marine iguanas, Galapagos penguins, and the flightless cormorants, but is also the only of the Galapagos Islands never to have introduced animals. Fernandina volcano is a very unique volcano and there is a lot to learn about it!

Formation

Fernandina Volcano in the Galapagos islands is a shield volcano. A bassaltic shield volcano is a large volcano with shallow sloping sides. Shield volcanoes are formed by lava flows of a low viscosity. This type of volcano is built up over time as the lava buildup increases and is shaped like a "turtle back". Many of the largest volcanoes in the world are shield volcanoes, including the Galapagos islands. Fernandina volcano is located on top of a hot spot on the Nazca plate on the western coast of Ecuador in South America. A hot spot is a large spot below the Earth's crust that has a high temperature due to lava flow. Meaning, there is a lot of seismic activity underneath Fernandina, causing a lot of eruptions. In fact Fernandina is the most active volcano in all of the Galapagos Islands.

Geological Location

The Galapagos islands are located in the Pacific ocean, 1000 km straight west of mainland Ecuador. Nineteen main islands spread over 50000 km2 to make up the archipelago. The Galapagos islands are actually peaks of underwater volcanoes, rising up from the hot spot in the center of the Nazca plate. Fernandina is the youngest and most active of all the islands, which is still being built and erupting continuously and is located at coordinates 0.37S91.55W

Fernandina Plate Boundary: Nazca Plate

Fernandina Plate Boundary: Nazca Plate
Fernandina is located in the center of the Nazca plate on top of a hot spot; the active site of the volcano. The Nazca plate moves in a westernly-eastern direction.

Eruption Style

Eruption Style
There have been many eruptions on Fernandina. The most recent eruption was in May 13, 2005. There was also a very large eruption in January 1995 which lasted for four months. In island volcanoes, lava does not come out from a single vent, eruptions on island volcanoes are mostly through fissure eruptions. A circumferential fissure is located on the southern flank of the volcano and is the source of molten rock. The height of the fissure lies at about 1100 meters above sea level. Overall Fernandina is one of the youngest most active volcanoes and can have eruptions lasting for several months because of the fissure of the volcano.

Enviornmental Dangers

Enviornmental Dangers
Volcanoes all can have different enviornmeantal dangers but the main one for fernandina volcano is global warming. Volcanoes release SO2, Cl2, HCl, H2o, Ash, and CO2 into the atmosphere. Over the past 100 years, the earth has warmed about one degree Farenheit. Therefore, scientists believe the warm temperatures are caused merely by a natural fluctuation in the earth's climate pattern. One plus side to the volcano though is that there are no people or residense on the island so that takes people away from the dangers.

Questions???

1. What type of volcano is Fernandina?
2. How is this type of volcano formed?
3. What is unique about the position the volcano is in terms of the tectonic plate?
4. How does Fernandina effect the world?
5. Where is this volcano located in the world?