Galapagos Volcano Attracts Hundreds of Tourists

Fiery lava flows have attracted hundreds of tourists to the largest of the Galapagos Islands less than a week after a volcano began erupting there.

The mile-high Sierra Negra volcano began erupting on October 22, but the island´s unique flora and fauna, including the famed Galapagos tortoises for which the archipelago is named, were unharmed.

Pablo Samaniega, a volcano expert at Ecuador´s Geophysics Institute, said the eruption shows no signs of stopping, and on average, these eruptions can last four weeks. The last time Sierra Negra erupted was in 1979.

The Galapagos Islands, located 625 miles off Ecuador´s Pacific coast, were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for their exotic wildlife, such as marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies.