CLIMBING CERRO AZUL VOLCANO ON ISABELA ISLAND

The Jones are visiting Isabela Island

Today, The Jones have spent a free day visiting Isabela Island and enjoying its views and its animals. 

They have talked about some memories of their childhood and beautiful experiences that they remember with emotion.

The Grandma has remembered her favourite TV Programs and Peke, her old friend which lives in Masquefa, near Barcelona. Both of them are beautiful past memories.

The family has read the last chapter of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Cerro Azul is a shield volcano on the south western part of Isabela Island in the Galápagos Islands. At a height of 1,689 m it is the second highest peak in the Galápagos and due to its topographic prominence of over 1,500 m it is categorised as an ultra. The volcano is one of the most active in the Galápagos, with the last eruption between May and June 2008.

More information: Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are believed to be formed from a mantle plume which creates a hotspot of volcanic activity away from plate boundaries where islands then form above it, similar to process that has created the Hawaiian islands. Cerro Azul is at the edge of the upwelling with steep drop offs in the ocean to the West, while the sea is shallower to the east of Isabela Island.

The Galápagos Islands from the air

Cerro Azul is one of six coalescing volcanoes on Isabela Island: Ecuador, Wolf, Darwin, Alcedo, and Sierra Negra.  

Cerro Azul is shaped like a large upturned soup bowl and like the other volcanoes on Isabela Island has a large caldera its one at 4x5 km across is one of the smallest. The caldera shows evidence of collapse following eruptive episodes and reaches a depth of 450 m to 650 m below the rim of the caldera, only Wolf Volcano in the Galápagos is as deep. The volcano is 34 by 22 km at maximum and has a volume of 172 km3. It has steep upper slopes of between 12 and 30 degrees. The shape of the volcano is affected by the sharp ocean drop off to the west where this flank of the volcano slopes steeply to the ocean.

More information: Galápagos

Historical eruptions date back to 1932, but the volcano has had a number of active periods since then in 1940, 1943,1949, 1951, 1959, 1968, 1979, 1998 and most recently in 2008. It is estimated that the surface of the volcano is young, less than 5000 years old and it is estimated that the volcano is about 350,000 years old. The age of Cerro Azul is similar to Sierra Negra and Alcedo and their positioning is not believed to be related to plate movement over the magma plume but instead an interaction between the plume and the lithosphere.

Geochelone Nigra Vicina

The 2008 eruption began in May and included a fissure eruption on the south east flank of the volcano; the eruption in 1998 had also included fissure eruptions on this part of the volcano. The fissure eruptions resulted in lava flowing 10 km from the fissure. There was also an eruption within the caldera. A second fissure opened lower down the slope in early June.

Analysis of the lavas on Cerro Azul show a range of tholeiitic to alkalic basalts and are unlike the neighbouring Sierra Negra or Alcedo volcanoes.

A study published in 2006 showed that there was continuous expansion of the volcano prior to and after the eruption in 1998. This expansion would have been due to the emplacement of magma into the magma chamber.

More information: The Atlantic

The subspecies of giant tortoise on the island is Geochelone nigra vicina, this subspecies is dome shelled and has an overlapping range with the subspecies on the neighbouring Sierra Negra Volcano, Geochelone nigra guntheri, which is a saddleback tortoise. They Cerro Azul tortoises were not affected by the 2008 eruption although the 1998 eruption did force the National Park authorities to move tortoises by land and helicopter. Other tortoises were killed in that eruption, either from lava or associated fires.

More information: Drink Tea Travel

All civilization has from time to time become 

a thin crust over a volcano of revolution. 

Havelock Ellis

CLAIRE FONTAINE & THE GRANDMA VISIT THE CRARC

Claire Fontaine & The Grandma in Masquefa

Masquefa is a municipality in the comarca of Anoia in Catalonia. It is situated on the edge of the Penedès Depression on the road between Piera and Martorell. It is served by a station on the FGC railway line R6 from Barcelona via Martorell to Igualada.

Claire Fontaine and The Grandma have visited Masquefa this morning. They have gone to visit the CRARC, a wonderful place where some reptiles and amphibians live in a special atmosphere waiting their moment to be returned to its original habitat. You can see lots of different species in this place: crocodiles, frogs, snakes, iguanas and turtles. One of the most interesting species is the Hermann's tortoise, aka Testudo hermanni which is under danger of extinction and thanks to CRARC is returning to its original habitat in ranges like the Albera, the Garraf, the Montsec or the Montsant.

More information: CRARC (Catalan Version)

Hermann's tortoise or Testudo hermanni is one of five tortoise species traditionally placed in the genus Testudo, the others being the marginated tortoise, Greek tortoise, Russian tortoise, and Kleinmann's tortoise. Two subspecies are known: the western Hermann's tortoise and the eastern Hermann's tortoise. Sometimes mentioned as a subspecies, Testudo hermanni peleponnesica is not yet confirmed to be genetically different from Testudo hermanni boettgeri.

Claire, The Grandma & Testudo Hermanni

Testudo hermanni can be found throughout Southern Europe. The western population is found in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Tuscany. The eastern population, Testudo hermanni boettgeri inhabits Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey and Greece, while Testudo hermanni hercegovinensis populates the coasts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro.

Hermann's tortoises are small to medium-sized tortoises from Southern Europe. Young animals, and some adults, have attractive black and yellow-patterned carapaces, although the brightness may fade with age to a less distinct gray, straw, or yellow coloration. They have slightly hooked upper jaws and, like other tortoises, possess no teeth, just strong, horny beaks. Their scaly limbs are greyish to brown, with some yellow markings, and their tails bear a spur, a horny spike, at the tip. Adult males have particularly long and thick tails, and well-developed spurs, distinguishing them from females.

More information: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Claire, The Grandma, Peke and a crocodile

The real purpose of Claire Fontaine and The Grandma's visit has been to meet one old friend, Peke, a sulcata tortoise that was adopted by The Grandma, some years ago and nowadays lives comfortably in the CRARC.

The African spurred tortoise or Centrochelys sulcata, also called the sulcata tortoise, is a species of tortoise, which inhabits the southern edge of the Sahara desert, in Africa. It is the third-largest species of tortoise in the world, the largest species of mainland tortoise, and the only species in the genus Centrochelys.

Its specific name sulcata is from the Latin word sulcus meaning furrow and refers to the furrows on the tortoise's scales.

More information: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The African spurred tortoise is native to the Sahara Desert and the Sahel, a transitional ecoregion of semiarid grasslands, savannas, and thorn shrublands found in the countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan. 

Claire & The Grandma in the CRARC, Masquefa

In these arid regions, the tortoise excavates burrows in the ground to get to areas with higher moisture levels, and spends the hottest part of the day in these burrows. This is known as aestivation. Burrows may average 30 inches in depth; some dig tunnel systems extending 10 feet or more underground.

Centrochelys sulcata is the third-largest species of tortoise in the world after the Galápagos tortoise, and Aldabra giant tortoise, and the largest of the mainland tortoises. Adults can reach 83 cm and can weigh 105 kg . They grow from hatchling size very quickly within the first few years of their lives. The lifespan of an African spurred tortoise is about 50–150 years, though they can live much longer. The oldest in captivity is 54 years, located in the Giza Zoological Gardens, Egypt.

More information: CITES

Sulcata tortoises are herbivores. Primarily, their diets consist of many types of grasses and plants, high in fibre and very low in protein. Flowers and other plants including cactus pads can be consumed. Feeding of fruit should be avoided.

Sadly, it's much easier to create a desert than a forest. 

James Lovelock

THE IUCN & THE CITES: THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE

A selfie with The Grandma

Hi friends! I'm Peke, a Geochelone Centrochelys Sulcata. I'm a tortoise which I have been living with The Grandma during 6 years and now I'm living in the CRARC in Masquefa, Anoia with my partners.

While I was living with The Grandma, I was a happy tortoise. We played baseball together, we walked hours and hours, I ate lots of vegetables and I had comfortable showers in the terrace. It was a happy life but I grew up a lot and when I was six years old it was time to move to Masquefa where I'm living now with my friends, a fantastic community of sulcatas. The Grandma often visits to me and we remember old times together.

More information: CRARC

I want to talk about the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN),  an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources that has a membership of over 1200 governmental and non-governmental organizations. 

Some 11,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis. It employs approximately 1000 full-time staff in more than 60 countries. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland. IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the implementation of several international conventions on nature conservation and biodiversity. It was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

My new home in the CRARC, Masquefa

The origins of IUCN were in 1947 when the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature organised an international conference on the protection of nature in Brunnen, Switzerland. 

The IUCN was established on 5 October 1948, in Fontainebleau, France. 

The initiative to set up the new organisation came from UNESCO and especially from its first Director General, the British biologist Julian Huxley.

The objectives of the new Union were to encourage international cooperation in the protection of nature, to promote national and international action and to compile, analyse and distribute information. At the time of its founding IUPN was the only international organisation focusing on the entire spectrum of nature conservation.

More information: IUCN

When we talk about IUCN we must pay attention to three facts:

• Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972). IUCN provides technical evaluations and monitoring.

• CITES- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1974) IUCN is a signatory party and the CITES secretariat was originally lodged with IUCN.

• Ramsar Convention – Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (1975). The secretariat is still administered from IUCN's headquarters.

The most important of these three facts is the CITES because thanks to it, I'm protected and different associations and people are working very hard every day to keep alive not only my species but thousands and thousands around the planet, which are still in danger sadly.

I offer to you a list of them. Take a look and join to us in this legitimate battle against the ilegal traffic of animals and the ilegal hunting.

More information: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved. 

Richard Rogers