Darwin Island (
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
:
Isla Darwin) is named in honor of
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors, through the process he called natural selection...
, and is among the smallest in the
Galapagos ArchipelagoThe Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km west of continental Ecuador...
with an area of just one square kilometer. With no dry landing sites, Darwin Island's main attractions are found in the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
, which is teeming with a spectacular variety of
marine lifeMarine biology is the scientific study of living organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment...
. Darwin Island and
Wolf IslandWolf Island Island is a small island in the Galapagos Islands and was named after the German geologist Theodor Wolf, who also has the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island named after him...
sometimes are referred to as Darwin and Wolf or Darwin Wolf.
Although the island had been marked on maps, and initially had been given the name Culpepper Island on Admiralty charts, the first visit onto Darwin Island was not until 1964 using a helicopter.
Darwin Island (
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
:
Isla Darwin) is named in honor of
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors, through the process he called natural selection...
, and is among the smallest in the
Galapagos ArchipelagoThe Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km west of continental Ecuador...
with an area of just one square kilometer. With no dry landing sites, Darwin Island's main attractions are found in the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
, which is teeming with a spectacular variety of
marine lifeMarine biology is the scientific study of living organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment...
. Darwin Island and
Wolf IslandWolf Island Island is a small island in the Galapagos Islands and was named after the German geologist Theodor Wolf, who also has the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island named after him...
sometimes are referred to as Darwin and Wolf or Darwin Wolf.
Although the island had been marked on maps, and initially had been given the name Culpepper Island on Admiralty charts, the first visit onto Darwin Island was not until 1964 using a helicopter.
Geology
Darwin Island is the remains of an extinct volcano that reaches 165 meters above sea level, it is situated north west of the main Galapagos Island group on the Wolf-Darwin Lineament that extends from the Galapagos Platform to the Galapagos Spreading Center, a mid ocean ridge separating the
NazcaThe Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America....
and
CocosThe Cocos Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides upon it....
tectonic plates. The formation of Darwin Island is different from the formation of the main Galapagos Islands. There are currently two theories on the formation of the lineament: the first is that magma rising from the mantle plume forming the main Galapagos Islands has been channelled towards the Galapagos Spreading Center; alternatively there has been a separate rise in magma caused by stress in the ocean lithosphere by a transform fault.
Darwin Island is the most northerly of the two peaks on the Wolf Darwin Lineament that reach above the surface, the other island
Wolf IslandWolf Island Island is a small island in the Galapagos Islands and was named after the German geologist Theodor Wolf, who also has the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island named after him...
is approximately 40 km away, although there are other sub surface peaks. The volcano that forms the island is extinct, with the last eruption believed to have been approximately 400,000 years ago,. making it younger than Wolf. The lava flows around Darwin are homogenous, believed to be because of its young age and have a similar chemical composition to those of the Galapagos Spreading Center..
Darwin is believed to have had at least two eruptive periods in its history of two tuff layers separated by
plagioclasePlagioclase is a very important series of tectosilicate minerals within the feldspar family. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a solid solution series, more properly known as the plagioclase feldspar series...
ultraphyric
basaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey.On Earth, most...
. Evidence also exists to suggest that Darwin Island is the remains of what was once a much larger edifice. Since the eruptive phase this would have been eroded.
Darwin Arch is a natural rock arch would at one time been part of this larger structure is located less that a kilometre from the main Darwin Island is a well known landmark to the few visitors to the island.
Wildlife
Darwin Island is not open to land visits. As a result the only visitors are those that come to scuba dive, even here due to the distance from the main island only a limited number of liveaboard ships cruise here.
The marine life at Darwin is diverse with large schools of fish. The island’s waters attract
Whale SharkThe whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow moving filter feeding shark that is the largest living fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of and a weight of more than , but there are unconfirmed claims of considerably larger whale sharks...
s from June to November, as well
HammerheadThe hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a "cephalofoil". Most hammerhead species are placed in the genus Sphyrna; some authorities...
,
GalapagosThe Galapagos shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis, is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, found worldwide. This species favors clear reef environments around oceanic islands, where it is often the most abundant shark species...
,
SilkyThe silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis, is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, named for the smooth texture of its skin. One of the most abundant sharks in the pelagic zone, the highly mobile silky shark can be found around the world in tropical waters. It is most often found near...
and
BlacktipThe blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae. It is common to coastal tropical and subtropical waters around the world, including brackish habitats. Genetic analyses have revealed substantial variation within this species, with populations from the...
sharks. In addition Green Turtles,
Manta rayThe manta ray , is the largest of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
s and
dolphinDolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly...
s can be found.
The island also supports a large bird population, including Frigate Birds and
Red-footed BoobyThe Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings.-Description:...
birds.