Laura Gamba
07 January 2022•Update: 07 January 2022
BOGOTA, Colombia
The Wolf volcano, the tallest mountain in the Galapagos islands, started erupting on Thursday night spewing lava and clouds of ash over the Pacific Ocean, reported Ecuador's Geophysical Institute.
The eruption began at 23:20 local time on Thursday and at 00:20 on Friday, "a cloud of gas and ash reaching heights between 3,793 meters (13,035 ft) above sea level to the northeast and 1,943 meters (6,375 ft) above sea level to the west" was observed, the Institute said. Park rangers recorded a video of a red beam of light coming out of the mountain early Friday morning.
Prior to this activity, around 21:00 there was an earthquake and then "a tremor signal was observed, probably associated with the beginning of the eruption," the Institute reported.
The Wolf volcano, located on Isabela Island, last erupted in May 2015. It is the highest peak of the islands reaching 1,707 meters (5,600 ft) in altitude and it is one of the five active volcanoes on Isabela Island, along with Sierra Negra, Cerro Azul, Alcedo and Darwin.
The institute says that "lava flows are descending on the south and southeast flanks of the volcano" and that the interaction of this material with sea water "can cause explosions".
The Wolf volcano is not located near an inhabited area and does not represent a risk for the human population of Isabela. However, it is a threat for certain unique species that inhabit the area such as the pink iguanas that live at an altitude of 1,500 meters (4,921 ft).
Ecuador's minister for environment, water and ecological transition, Gustavo Manrique, said that a team from the Galapagos National Park "is evaluating the situation to monitor this natural process of an archipelago in formation".
"The wonderful Wolf volcano, the highest volcano in Galapagos and home of the pink iguana, surprised us with a new eruption," he said on Twitter.
