The volcano was named after Theodor Wolf, a German geologist who studied the Galápagos Islands in the 19th century.

[2] In a process similar to the formation of the Hawaiian islands, the Galapagos (along with associated hotspot) appear to be created from a mantle plume.

The lavas from Wolf are similar to those erupted from the Galapagos Spreading Center, a mid-ocean ridge over 200 km (120 mi) away, which may be due to interaction between the plume, which is centred on Fernandina, and the upper mantle.

It has its own subspecies of Galapagos tortoise, Chelonoidis nigra becki [8] which has a saddleback shell and is found on the northern and western slopes of the volcano,[9] away from the more recent lava flows where there is denser vegetation.

[10] During a 2008 survey of over 1600 specimens on Wolf Volcano, all morphologies of tortoise were found, including two that in shape are similar to Lonesome George.

[13] The pink land iguana had been discovered by park rangers in 1986 and studied by scientists since 2000, and identified as a separate species in 2009.

Scientists are unsure where the species developed, as it is believed to have separated from the other land iguana of Galapagos prior to the formation of Wolf volcano or Isabela Island.