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Genovesa Island

Genovesa

Shield volcano · Ecuador · 64m

A sea lion perches on a tilted slab of a lava flow dipping toward the west side of Darwin Bay. A 2-km-wide excentric caldera on the south side of Genovesa Island forms an embayment that is filled by the bay. The small, very low island of Genovesa is the top of a shield volcano, whose summit is only 64 m high. No historical eruptions are known from Genovesa, although the fresh-looking lava flows suggest a very youthful age.
A sea lion perches on a tilted slab of a lava flow dipping toward the west side of Darwin Bay. A 2-km-wide excentric caldera on the south side of Genovesa Island forms an embayment that is filled by the bay. The small, very low island of Genovesa is the top of a shield volcano, whose summit is only 64 m high. No historical eruptions are known from Genovesa, although the fresh-looking lava flows suggest a very youthful age. · Photo: Photo by Carter Hearn, 2004. · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Shield volcano
Country
Ecuador
Region
Eastern Pacific Volcanic Regions / Northern Galapagos Volcanic Province
Elevation
64m
Coordinates
0.320, -89.958
Last eruption
Unknown
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Shield
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

The small, very low island of Genovesa is the top of a shield volcano. The surface of a summit crater lake is near sea level. A larger, 2-km-wide excentric caldera on the S side forms an embayment that is filled by Darwin Bay. Sediment filling Arctulus Lake, a crater in the center of the island, is less than 6000 years old. Youthful flows erupted from flank fissures cover much of the island and very fresh, glassy spatter has been found (Simkin 1976, pers. comm.). No historical eruptions are known, although the fresh-looking lava flows suggest a very youthful age. Basaltic rocks on the island are noted for their abundant coarse plagioclases.

Eruption history

Detailed timeline

No eruption records available.

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.