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Redonda Rock (, "Round Rock") is a flat-topped, steep-sided
islet
An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...
located roughly northwest of the island of
Isabela in
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
's
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...
. Redonda measures long and wide with a maximum elevation of .
Its isolation and inaccessibility coupled with its rocky cliffs riddled with crevices and crossed by ledges has made Redonda a haven for nesting
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...
s.
This small volcanic island is the remains of a large
shield volcano
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava ...
that has vastly eroded away below sea level.
Potassium–argon dating of Redonda indicates that the islet is at least 53,000 years old.
However, it remains unknown when the last eruption occurred from the shield volcano. Several shallow submarine
fumarole
A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or another rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...
s exist around the island and may indicate that the volcano is still active.
Herman Melville described the rock in detail in his short story The Encantadas.
See also
*
Volcanoes of the Galápagos Islands
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often ...
*
List of volcanoes in Ecuador
This is a list of active and extinct volcanoes in Ecuador.
In Ecuador, National Polytechnic School (Ecuador), EPN monitors the volcanic activity in this Andean nation.
Mainland
Galápagos Islands
References
Volcano page, Institu ...
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
* .
{{Ecuador-geo-stub
Islands of the Galápagos Islands
Volcanoes of the Galápagos Islands
Pleistocene shield volcanoes
Polygenetic shield volcanoes
Seabird colonies
Shield volcanoes of Ecuador
Potentially active volcanoes