Astronaut view of the Galápagos Islands
Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features a view of the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
According to NASA, the sunglint on the ocean surface helps reveal features that are usually hard to spot, such as the lake occupying the summit caldera of La Cumbre – which is the shield volcano that makes up Fernandina Island.
During an eruption in 1968, La Cumbre’s summit caldera collapsed and the lake formed.
Fernandina is the most active volcanic island in the Galápagos, and is also the youngest. The island formed less than a million years ago and its most recent eruption was in January of 2020
The Galápagos Islands are best known for having rare animals that are not found anywhere else on Earth. The islands are home to at least 9,000 species such the giant tortoise and the Galápagos penguin.
The photograph was captured by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
