Galapagos Sierra Negra Volcano

Elevation: 1124 m (3,688 ft)

Location: Isabela Island - Galapagos

Cord: 0.83°S 91.17°W

Last Eruption: 2005

Sierra Volcano is located at the eastern of Isabela Island, 13 miles from Puerto Villamil in the Galapagos Islands. It rises to an altitude of 1124 m. Around Sierra Negra we can find Cerro Azul volcano to the west and Alcedo to the north. It is he largest volcano in the archipielago, with eruptions since 1813. The age of Sierra Negra is approximately 535.000 years old, with a measure of 6 miles in diameter and 300 feet deep. Sierra Negra have also an unusual caldera, it is elliptical whereas other volcanos are circular.  The volcano is one of the most active in the Galapagos, with the last eruption starting on 22 October 2005 and lasting until 30 October 2005.

Sierra Negra Crater 360° Panoramic view
Land Tours to Sierra Volcano: http://www.naturegalapagos.com/codigo/isabela/index.html

An Albino Darwin's Finch was seen in Galapagos.

An Albino Darwin's Finch was seen in Galapagos Islands on the border of the Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela Island.

The Excursionists were very excited about this sighting that happened while doing the excurcion the volcano Sierra Negra organized by Nature Galapagos & Ecuador.

"Albino animals are extremely rare and unusual. They have all the characteristics of others of their species except they are all white in color. Not one inch of their natural coloring comes through as their bodies are unable to produce a pigment known as melanin. Melanin creates the normal pigmentation and coloring in an animal’s skin, fur or scales. This lack of melanin generally results in the animal looking bleached all over, appearing white or pink.

Being white doesn’t mean an animal is albino. The true test is in the eye coloration. All albino animals have pink/red eyes whereas white animals with blue eyes are called leucistic, which means they may have a reduced amount of pigmentation in relation to a normal specimen of their species but it is not as severe as albinism. We have some of both pictured here.

Albinism is an inherited trait and is passed from adult to young. An albino offspring is formed from a specific combination of genes coming together in any species. Albinos are rare because the genes which cause albinism are recessive and rarely occur." Source: Factzoo.com