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Fernandina
Fernandina
	Fernandina Island (centre) and Isabela Island
Highest point
Peak	Volcan La Cumbre
Elevation	1,476 m (4,843 ft)
Coordinates	0°22′S 91°33′W / 0.37°S 91.55°W
Geography
	Fernandina Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Geology
Mountain type	Shield volcano
Last eruption	2024

Fernandina Island
(Narborough Island)
	Fernandina Island
Geography
Location	Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Coordinates	0°22′S 91°33′W / 0.37°S 91.55°W
Archipelago	Galápagos Islands
Area	642 km2 (248 sq mi)
Highest elevation	1,476 m (4843 ft)
Highest point	Volcan La Cumbre
Administration
	Ecuador
Province	Galápagos

Fernandina Island (Spanish: Isla Fernandina) is the youngest and third largest island in the Galapagos, as well as the furthest west. It has an area of 642 km² (248 sq mi) and a height of 1,476 m (4,843 ft), with a summit caldera about 6.5 km (4.0 mi) wide. It is younger than Isabela, being only less than one million years old since its formation. Like the other islands, it was formed by the Galápagos hotspot. The island is an active shield volcano that has most recently erupted in March 2024.

Names

Fernandina is named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, one of the sponsors of Christopher Columbus's voyages. It was formerly known in Spanish as Isla de Plata ("Silver Island")^[2] and in English as Narbrough^[3] or Narborough Island, honoring Admiral John Narborough who commanded a British Navy squadron in the West Indies.^[4] The name was bestowed by the English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley in 1684 and preserved for centuries thereafter.^[4]

Geography

Ferdandina is the youngest and third largest island in the Galapagos, as well as the furthest west.^[5] It has an area of 642 km² (248 sq mi) and a height of 1,476 m (4,843 ft), with a summit caldera about 6.5 km (4.0 mi) wide. The caldera underwent a collapse in 1968, when parts of the caldera floor dropped 350 m (1,150 ft). A small lake has intermittently occupied the northern caldera floor, most recently in 1988. Due to the recent volcanic activity, the island does not present much plant life and has a mostly rocky surface. Visitors to Fernandina Island will be taken to see only the outskirts of the crater for safety reasons. Two types of lava flow can be observed, ʻaʻā and pāhoehoe.

Wildlife

Punta Espinoza is a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of marine iguanas gather in large groups on black lava rocks. The famous flightless cormorant inhabits this island as well as penguins, pelicans and sea lions. The Narborough Island tortoise is a highly elusive species of Galápagos tortoise restricted to the island, thought likely extinct when no sighting had been made for 113 years after 1906, one old female being found in 2019.^[6]

Flora

Mangrove forests are also found on the island.

Volcanic history

Eruptions of La Cumbre have been recorded in 1825, 2009, 2018, 2020 and 2024.

References

Citations

^ "Fernandina". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
^ Kitchin, Thomas (1797), "South America", Kitchin's General Atlas..., London: Laurie & Whittle.
^ McEwen (1988), p. 235.
^ ^a ^b McEwen (1988), p. 236.
^ "Fernandina". Galapagos Conservancy. galapagos.org. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
^ "Giant tortoise believed extinct for 100 years found in Galápagos". The Guardian. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.

Bibliography

McEwen, Alec (July 1988), "The English Place-Names of the Galápagos", The Geographical Journal, vol. 154, London: Royal Geographical Society, pp. 234–242, doi:10.2307/633849, JSTOR 633849.