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 (5,541 ft) it is the second highest peak in the Galapagos and due to its topographic prominence of over 1,500 m (4,921 ft) it is categorised as an ultra. The volcano is one of the most active in the Galapagos, with the last eruption between May and June 2008.

The Galápagos Islands are an isolated set of volcanoes, consisting of shield volcanoes and lava plateaus, located 1,200 km (746 mi) west of Ecuador. They are driven by the Galápagos hotspot, and are between 4.2 million and 700,000 years of age. The largest island, Isabela, consists of six coalesced shield volcanoes, each delineated by a large summit caldera. Española, the oldest island, and Fernandina, the youngest, are also shield volcanoes, as are most of the other islands in the chain. The Galápagos Islands are perched on a large lava plateau known as the Galápagos Platform, which creates a shallow-water depth of 360 to 900 m at the base of the islands, which stretch over a 174 mi (280 km)-long diameter. Since Charles Darwin's famous visit to the islands in 1835, over 60 recorded eruptions have occurred in the islands, from six different shield volcanoes. Of the 21 emergent volcanoes, 13 are considered active.