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A vertical photograph of La Cumbre volcano on Fernandina Island. This was taken by the US Air Force in 1946 from an elevation of about 10,000 feet. Note that the caldera of the volcano has a lake in it. Air photographs taken later show that this lake disappeared sometime before 1960. Fernandina is the youngest island in the Galapagos Islands. There have been many eruptions over the last 50 years. Eruptions took place in 1959, 1968, 1982, 1988, and the most recent one occurred in 1995. These eruptions have greatly modified the shape and depth of the summit caldera. The 1968 eruption caused the caldera to subside, or sink, about 300 meters. The lighter patches in the photo are areas of older lava with more vegetation. The darker areas that form linear stripes coming out from the caldera are younger lava flows.

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