THE GALAPAGOS
Three views of the caldera of Sierra Negra is the largest and oldest of the calderas in the Galapagos. This caldera is four and a half by six and a half miles across.
The chief volcanologist of the Smithsonian, who was also the head of the Charles Darwin Foundation asked me to photograph the caldera of Fernandina (image below) to help him analyze its expansion.
The view into Fernandina’s caldera does not remain the same for long. The black lava flows evident have all occurred since the floor of the caldera fell 1,000 feet in 1968 during volcanic activity, swallowing the lake. A 1988 eruption of the volcano once again caused the lake to disappear. This photograph was one of the last to be taken of the lake.
