Story highlights Smoke spews six miles into the air

Mountain is home to world's only population of pink iguanas

Park service says tourism not threatened.

(CNN) Nature erupted in all its glory this week, spitting fire, spewing smoke 6 miles into the air and threatening a species on the islands where Charles Darwin first began to develop the theory of evolution.

Early Monday morning, the Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island -- the highest volcano in the archipelago -- erupted for the first time in 33 years, the Galapagos National Park service said.

The lava glowed orange through the night as it coursed down the mountainside.

World's only pink iguanas

Wolf volcano, which rises more than 5,500 feet above the sea, is home to the world's only population of pink iguanas, whose habitat is now threatened by the eruption. The pink iguanas share the mountain with yellow iguanas and giant tortoises.

Read More