位于厄瓜多尔西部的加拉帕戈斯群岛中的一座火山日前开始爆发。加拉帕戈斯群岛以其动植物多样性而著称，岛上的生物还包括著名的体型巨大的加拉帕戈斯陆龟。

    据美联社10月23日援引加拉帕戈斯国家公园有关官员发表的一份声明说，这座4920英尺（约合1476米）高的谢拉·内格拉火山位于海马形状的伊莎贝拉岛上，而伊莎贝拉岛则是加拉帕戈斯群岛中面积最大的岛屿。谢拉·内格拉火山于10月22日傍晚开始喷发，产生了3条熔岩流。

    报道说，很多加拉帕戈斯陆龟栖息在火山口附近，其中一些陆龟的寿命都超过了150年。位于伊莎贝拉岛南部海岸的比亚米尔港大约居住着2000人。上述声明说，这次火山喷发“不会给这些居民带来危险”；而作为一项预防措施，位于谢拉·内格拉火山附近的旅游中心已被关闭。

    另据路透社报道说，这次谢拉·内格拉火山喷发所流出的炽热熔岩并没有对当地的著名物种——加拉帕戈斯陆龟造成影响，它们的处境是安全的。

    加拉帕戈斯群岛位于厄瓜多尔西部的太平洋中，以拥有鬣蜥、巨龟等珍奇动植物而闻名，并被称为“活的生物进化博物馆”。早在1979年，它就被联合国教科文组织宣布为“世界自然遗产”。 加拉帕戈斯群岛丰富的生物多样性还促使达尔文提出了著名的生物进化理论。

    The eruption of a volcano on the largest of the Galapagos Islands is not a threat to villagers or to the remote archipelago's unique flora and fauna, including the famed giant tortoises, officials said Monday.

    Pablo Gordillo, mayor of Puerto Villamil, a village of 2,000 people on seahorse-shaped Isabela, said there was no danger two days after the mile-high Sierra Negra volcano began erupting.

    "The situation is not risky," he said.

    Gordillo said there were no groups of the giant tortoises in the path of the lava flow.

    He said there was "at most iguanas," which can easily escape the flow. Washington Tapia, director of the Galapagos National Park, agreed.

    "The tortoise and iguana populations in the area are not threatened," he said by telephone. "The rivers of lava that on Saturday were flowing toward the sea are no longer flowing."

    Tapia said park rangers had overflown the volcano and observed that the lava was flowing from a fissure at the top of the volcano back into the interior.

    He said no one has been evacuated, including people from outlying farms near the volcano.

    "We have opened an observation post near the site for tourists so that visitors can observe this natural spectacle," he said.

    The last time the volcano 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. The islands' rich biodiversity inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.