Alcedo | |
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 1,130 m (3,710 ft) |
Coordinates | 0°26′S 91°07′W / 0.43°S 91.12°W |
Geography | |
Geology | |
Mountain type | Shield volcano |
Last eruption | December 1993[1] |
Alcedo Volcano is one of the six coalescing shield volcanoes that make up Isabela Island in the Galapagos. The remote location of the volcano has meant that even the most recent eruption in 1993 was not recorded until two years later. It is also the only volcano in the Galapagos to have erupted rhyolite and basaltic lava.
The volcano has the largest number of wild tortoises of any of the volcanoes in the Galapagos, though their genetic diversity is amongst the lowest of any of the breeds in the archipelago. The habitat of the tortoises was threatened when feral goats crossed from southern Isabela Island in the 1970s and then reproduced rapidly.