The latter has produced many young lavas and cinder cones at the northern and southern ends of the island. There has been one recorded eruption in the past century. Many of the lavas erupted during the shield stage have very abundant large white crystals of plagioclase. While plagioclase is common in basaltic lavas, the remarkable abundance and size of these crystals is extremely unusual. Abingtonites are occasionally found elsewhere in the Galapagos, particularly on neighboring northern islands.
Plagioclase is often lighter than basaltic magmas from which they crystallize.
The formation of abingtonites most likely involves the concentration of plagioclase in the tops of magma chambers through floatation. Most Galapagos magmas seem to be derived from a mixture of material from the Galapagos mantle plume and ambient upper mantle. Geochemically, Pinta magmas represent the northern extreme of the range of compositions observed in the Galapagos, indicating they are derived mostly from the Galapagos mantle plume. This contrasts with magmas from neighboring Marchena and Genovesa , which are derived mostly from the ambient upper mantle. The Last of His Race Pinta once had a thriving tortoise population, but the population was decimated by whalers and fisherman.