The
Galápagos Islands (official name:
Archipiélago de Colón; other Spanish names:
Islas de Colón or
Islas Galápagos) are an
archipelagoAn archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of volcanic islands distributed around the
equatorAn equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
in the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, 972 km (524.8 nmi) west of continental
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, of which they are a part.
The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an
Ecuadorian provinceGalápagos is a province of Ecuador in the country's Insular region, located approximately off the western coast of the mainland. The capital is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno....
, a
national parkGalápagos National Park, established in 1959, is Ecuador's first national park. The government of Ecuador designated 97% of the land area of Galápagos as the country's first National Park...
, and a
biological marine reserveThe Galápagos Islands and the surrounding waters represent one of the world’s most unusual ecosystems and are rich areas of biodiversity. Recently granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the Galápagos Marine Reserve is the largest marine reserve in a developing country and the second largest...
. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of around 23,000.
The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
during
the voyage of the BeagleThe second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after her previous captain committed suicide...
. His observations and collections contributed to the
inception of Darwin's theoryThe inception of Darwin's theory occurred during an intensively busy period which began when Charles Darwin returned from the survey voyage of the Beagle, with his reputation as a fossil collector and geologist already established...
of
evolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
by
natural selectionNatural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
.
The first crude
navigation chartA nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land , natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and man-made aids...
of the islands was done by the
buccaneerThe buccaneers were privateers who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century.The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate...
Ambrose CowleyWilliam Ambrosia Cowley was a 17th century English buccaneer who surveyed the Galápagos Islands during his circumnavigation of the world, and published the first chart of the islands in 1684...
in 1684. He named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after the English noblemen who helped the privateer's cause. More recently, the Ecuadorian government gave most of the islands Spanish names. While the Spanish names are official, many users (especially ecological researchers) continue to use the older English names, particularly as those were the names used when
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
visited.
Physical geography
The islands are located in the eastern Pacific Ocean, 973 km (525.4 nmi; 604.6 mi) off the west coast of South America. The closest land mass is the mainland of
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
to the east (the country to which they belong), to the north is
Cocos IslandCocos Island is an uninhabited island located off the shore of Costa Rica . It constitutes the 11th district of Puntarenas Canton of the province of Puntarenas. It is one of the National Parks of Costa Rica...
at 720 km (389 nmi; 447 mi) and to the south is
Easter IslandEaster Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
and San Felix Island at 3200 km (1,727.9 nmi; 1,988.4 mi).
The islands are found at the coordinates 1°40'N–1°36'S, 89°16'–92°01'W. Straddling the equator, islands in the chain are located in both the northern and southern hemisphere, with Volcán Wolf and Volcán Ecuador on Isla
IsabelaIsabela Island is the largest island of the Galápagos with an area of , and length of nearly 4 times larger than Santa Cruz, the next largest of the islands. This island was named in honor of Queen Isabella of Spain, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. . By the English, it was named Albemarle...
being directly on the equator.
EspañolaEspañola Island is part of the Galápagos Islands. The English named it Hood Island after Viscount Samuel Hood. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Santa Fe, one of the oldest, at approximately four million years...
, the southernmost island, and
DarwinDarwin Island is named in honor of Charles Darwin, and is among the smallest in the Galapagos Archipelago with an area of just one square kilometer. With no dry landing sites, Darwin Island's main attractions are found in the Pacific Ocean, which is teeming with a spectacular variety of marine life...
, the northernmost island, are spread out over a distance of 220 km (137 mi). The
International Hydrographic OrganizationThe International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...
(IHO) considers them wholly within the South Pacific Ocean, however. The Galápagos Archipelago consists of 7880 km² (3,042.5 sq mi) of land spread over 45000 km² (17,374.6 sq mi) of ocean. The largest of the islands, Isabela, measures 4640 km² (1,791.5 sq mi) and makes up half of the total land area of the Galápagos. Volcán Wolf on Isabela is the highest point, with an elevation of 1,707 m (5,600 ft) above sea level.
The group consists of 15 main islands, 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and
isletAn islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
s. The islands are located at the
Galapagos Triple JunctionThe Galapagos Triple Junction is a geological area in the eastern Pacific Ocean several hundred miles west of the Galapagos Islands where three tectonic plates - the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate and the Pacific Plate - meet. It is an unusual type of triple junction in which the three plates do not...
. The archipelago is located on the Nazca Plate (a tectonic plate), which is moving east/southeast, diving under the South American Plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches per year. It is also atop the
Galapagos hotspotThe Galápagos hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the East Pacific Ocean responsible for the creation of the Galapagos Islands as well as three major aseismic ridge systems, Carnegie, Cocos and Malpelso which are on two tectonic plates. The hotspot is located near the Equator on the Nazca Plate not...
, a place where the Earth's crust is being melted from below by a
mantle plumeA mantle plume is a hypothetical thermal diapir of abnormally hot rock that nucleates at the core-mantle boundary and rises through the Earth's mantle. Such plumes were invoked in 1971 to explain volcanic regions that were not thought to be explicable by the then-new theory of plate tectonics. Some...
, creating volcanoes. The oldest island is thought to have formed between 5 million and 10 million years ago. The youngest islands, Isabela and
FernandinaFernandina Island is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galápagos Islands. Like the others, the island was formed by the Galápagos hotspot...
, are still being formed, with the most recent volcanic eruption in April 2009, where lava from the volcanic island Fernandina started flowing both towards the island's shoreline and into the centre caldera.
Main islands
The 18 main islands (with a land area larger than 1 km
2) of the archipelago (with their English names) shown alphabetically:
- Baltra (South Seymour) Island
Baltra Island, or Isla Baltra, is a small island of the Galápagos Islands. Also known as South Seymour , Baltra is a small flat island located near the center of the Galápagos. It was created by geological uplift...
– Also known as South Seymour, Baltra is a small flat island located near the centre of the Galápagos. It was created by geological uplift. The island is very arid, and vegetation consists of salt bushes, prickly pear cacti and palo santo trees.
Until 1986, Baltra Airport was the only airport serving the Galápagos. Now, there are two airports which receive flights from the continent; the other is located on
San Cristóbal IslandSan Cristóbal is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, and one of the oldest geologically.Its Spanish name "San Cristóbal" comes from the patron saint of seafarers, St. Christopher...
. Private planes flying to Galápagos must fly to Baltra, as it is the only airport with facilities for planes overnight.
On arriving in Baltra, all visitors are immediately transported by bus to one of two docks. The first dock is located in a small bay, where the boats cruising Galápagos await passengers. The second is a ferry dock, which connects Baltra to the island of Santa Cruz.
During the 1940s, scientists decided to move 70 of Baltra's
land iguanasThe Galapagos Land Iguana is a species of lizard in the Iguanidae family. It is one of three species of the genus Conolophus...
to the neighboring
North Seymour IslandNorth Seymour is a small island near to Baltra Island in the Galapagos Islands. It was formed by uplift of a submarine lava formation. The whole island is covered with low, bushy vegetation....
as part of an experiment. This move had unexpected results during the military occupation of Baltra in World War II; the native iguanas became extinct on the island. During the 1980s, iguanas from North Seymour were brought to the
Charles Darwin Research StationThe Charles Darwin Research Station is a biological research station operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation. It is located in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, with satellite offices on Isabela and San Cristóbal islands.- Background :In Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island,...
as part of a breeding and repopulation project, and in the 1990s, land iguanas were reintroduced to Baltra. As of 1997, scientists counted 97 iguanas living on Baltra; 13 of which were born on the islands.
In 2007 and 2008, the Baltra airport was remodeled to include additional restaurants, shops and an improved visitor area.
- Bartolomé (Bartholomew) Island
Bartolomé Island is a volcanic islet in the Galápagos Islands group. It is a volcanic islet just off the east coast of Santiago Island. It is one of the "younger" islands in the Galápagos archipelago...
– Bartolomé Island is a volcanic islet just off the east coast of Santiago Island in the Galápagos Islands group. It is one of the "younger" islands in the Galápagos archipelago. This island, and neighboring Sulivan Bay on Santiago (James) island, are named after life-long friend of Charles Darwin, Sir Bartholomew James SulivanSir Bartholomew James Sulivan was a British sailor and hydrographer, born at Tregew, Flushing, near Falmouth, Cornwall.He was a leading advocate of the value of nautical surveying in relation to naval operations...
, who was a Lieutenant aboard HMS BeagleHMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
. Today Sulivan Bay is often misspelled Sullivan Bay. This island is one of the few that is home to the Galapagos penguinThe Galapagos Penguin is a penguin endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It is the only penguin that lives north of the equator in the wild; it can survive due to the cool temperatures resulting from the Humboldt Current and cool waters from great depths brought up by the Cromwell Current...
which is the only wild penguin species to live on the equator. The green turtle is another animal that resides on the island.
- Darwin (Culpepper) Island
Darwin Island is named in honor of Charles Darwin, and is among the smallest in the Galapagos Archipelago with an area of just one square kilometer. With no dry landing sites, Darwin Island's main attractions are found in the Pacific Ocean, which is teeming with a spectacular variety of marine life...
– This island is named after Charles Darwin. It has an area of 1.1 square kilometers (0.4 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 168 meters (551 ft). Here fur seals, frigates, marine iguanas, swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions, whales, marine turtles, and red-footed and Nazca boobies can be seen.
- Española (Hood) Island
Española Island is part of the Galápagos Islands. The English named it Hood Island after Viscount Samuel Hood. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Santa Fe, one of the oldest, at approximately four million years...
– Its name was given in honor of Spain. It also is known as Hood, after Viscount Samuel HoodSamuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...
. It has an area of 60 square kilometers (23 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 206 meters (676 ft).
Española is the oldest island at around 3.5 million years, and the southernmost in the group. Due to its remote location, Española has a large number of endemic species. It has its own species of lava lizard, mockingbird, and tortoise. Española's marine iguanas exhibit a distinctive red coloration change during the breeding season.
Española is the only place where the
waved albatrossThe Waved Albatross, Phoebastria irrorata - also known as Galapagos Albatross - is the only member of the Diomedeidae family located in the tropics. When they forage, the Waved Albatross follow straight paths to a single site off the coast of Peru, about distant to the east...
nests. Some of the birds have attempted to breed on
Genovesa (Tower) IslandGenovesa Island is a shield volcano in the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The island occupies about , and its maximum elevation is . The horse-shoe shaped island has a volcanic caldera whose wall has collapsed, forming the Great Darwin Bay, surrounded by cliffs...
, but unsuccessfully. Española's steep cliffs serve as the perfect runways for these birds, which take off for their ocean feeding grounds near the mainland of Ecuador and Peru.
Española has two visitor sites. Gardner Bay is a swimming and snorkeling site, and offers a great beach. Punta Suarez has migrant, resident, and endemic wildlife, including brightly colored
marine iguanaThe Marine Iguana is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile. The Iguana can dive over 30 ft into the water. It has spread to all the islands in the archipelago, and is...
s, Española lava lizards,
hood mockingbirdsThe Hood Mockingbird, Mimus macdonaldi, also known as the Española Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is endemic to Española Island in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and it is one of four closely related mockingbird species endemic to the Galápagos archipelago...
,
swallow-tailed gullThe Swallow-tailed Gull is an equatorial seabird in the gull family Laridae. It is the only species in the genus Creagrus, which derives from the Latin Creagra and the Greek kreourgos which means butcher, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the...
s,
blue-footed boobiesThe Blue-footed Booby is a bird in the Sulidae family which comprises ten species of long-winged seabirds. The natural breeding habitat of the Blue-footed Booby is tropical and subtropical islands off the Pacific Ocean, most famously, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.- Etymology :The name booby...
,
Nazca boobiesThe Nazca Booby, Sula granti, is a booby which is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, namely on the Galápagos Islands where it can be seen by eco-tourists, and on Clipperton Island...
,
red-billed tropicbirdsThe Red-billed Tropicbird, Phaethon aethereus, also known as the Boatswain Bird is a tropicbird, one of three closely related seabirds of tropical oceans.-Distribution and habitat:...
,Galápagos hawks, 3 species of Darwin's finches, and the waved albatross.
- Fernandina (Narborough) Island
Fernandina Island is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galápagos Islands. Like the others, the island was formed by the Galápagos hotspot...
– The name was given in honor of King Ferdinand II of AragonFerdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. Fernandina has an area of 642 square kilometers (248 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 1,494 meters (4,902 ft). This is the youngest and westernmost island. On 13 May 2005, a new, very eruptive process began on this island, when an ash and water vapor cloud rose to a height of 7 kilometres (22,965.9 ft) and lava flows descended the slopes of the volcano on the way to the sea. Punta Espinosa is a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of marine iguanas gather, largely on black lava rocks. The famous flightless cormorantsThe Flightless Cormorant , also known as the Galapagos Cormorant, is a cormorant native to the Galapagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only cormorant that has lost the ability to fly...
inhabit this island, as do Galápagos penguinThe Galapagos Penguin is a penguin endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It is the only penguin that lives north of the equator in the wild; it can survive due to the cool temperatures resulting from the Humboldt Current and cool waters from great depths brought up by the Cromwell Current...
s, pelicanA pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
s, Galápagos sea lionThe Galápagos sea lion , a species of sea lion, exclusively breeds on the Galápagos Islands and – in smaller numbers – on Isla de la Plata . Being fairly social, and one of the most numerous species in the Galápagos archipelago, they are often spotted sun-bathing on sandy shores or rock groups or...
s and Galápagos fur sealsThe Galápagos fur seal breeds on the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific, west of mainland Ecuador.- Description :...
. Different types of lava flows can be compared, and the mangroveMangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forests can be observed.
- Floreana (Charles or Santa María) Island
Floreana Island is an island of the Galápagos Islands. It was named after Juan José Flores, the first president of Ecuador, during whose administration the government of Ecuador took possession of the archipelago, having previously been called Charles Island...
– It was named after Juan José FloresJuan José Flores y Aramburu was a Venezuelan military general who became Supreme Chief, and later the first President of the new Republic of Ecuador. He later served two more terms from 1839 to 1843 and from 1843 to 1845, and is often referred to as "The founder of the Republic".-Biography:Flores...
, the first President of Ecuador, during whose administration the government of Ecuador took possession of the archipelago. It is also called Santa MariaLa Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción , was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa.-History:...
, after one of the caravelA caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
s of Columbus. It has an area of 173 square kilometers (67 sq mi) and a maximum elevation of 640 meters (2,100 ft). It is one of the islands with the most interesting human history, and one of the earliest to be inhabited. FlamingoFlamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
s and green sea turtles nest (December to May) on this island. The patapegada or Galápagos petrel, a sea bird which spends most of its life away from land, is found here. At Post Office Bay, since the 18th century whalersWhaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
kept a wooden barrel that served as post office so that mail could be picked up and delivered to their destinations, mainly Europe and the United States, by ships on their way home. At the “Devil's Crown”, an underwater volcanic coneVolcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic formations. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption...
and coralCorals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
formations are found.
- Genovesa (Tower) Island
Genovesa Island is a shield volcano in the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The island occupies about , and its maximum elevation is . The horse-shoe shaped island has a volcanic caldera whose wall has collapsed, forming the Great Darwin Bay, surrounded by cliffs...
– The name is derived from GenoaGenoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy. It has an area of 14 square kilometers (5.4 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 76 meters (249 ft). This island is formed by the remaining edge of a large calderaA caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
that is submerged. Its nickname of “the bird island” is clearly justified. At Darwin Bay, frigatebirdThe frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them...
s and swallow-tailed gullsThe Swallow-tailed Gull is an equatorial seabird in the gull family Laridae. It is the only species in the genus Creagrus, which derives from the Latin Creagra and the Greek kreourgos which means butcher, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the...
, the only nocturnal species of gull in the world, can be seen. Red-footed boobiesA booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...
, noddy ternTerns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...
s, lava gulls, tropic birds, dovePigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
s, storm petrels and Darwin finchesDarwin's finches are a group of 14 or 15 species of passerine birds. It is still not clear which bird family they belong to, but they are not related to the true finches. They were first collected by Charles Darwin on the Galápagos Islands during the second voyage of the Beagle...
are also in sight. Prince Philip's Steps is a bird-watching plateauIn geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
with Nazca and red-footed boobies. There is a large Palo Santo forest.
- Isabela (Albemarle) Island (Ecuador)
Isabela Island is the largest island of the Galápagos with an area of , and length of nearly 4 times larger than Santa Cruz, the next largest of the islands. This island was named in honor of Queen Isabella of Spain, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. . By the English, it was named Albemarle...
– This island was named in honor of Queen Isabela. With an area of 4,640 square kilometers (1,792 sq mi), it is the largest island of the Galápagos. Its highest point is Volcán Wolf, with an altitude of 1,707 meters (5,600 ft). The island's seahorseSeahorses compose the fish genus Hippocampus within the family Syngnathidae, in order Syngnathiformes. Syngnathidae also includes the pipefishes. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning "horse" and kampos meaning “sea monster”.There are nearly 50 species of seahorse...
shape is the product of the merging of six large volcanoes into a single land mass. On this island, Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, pelicans and Sally Lightfoot crabsThe crab Grapsus grapsus is one of the most common crabs along the western coast of the Americas. It is known variously as "red rock crab", "abuete negro", and, together with other crabs such as Percnon gibbesi, as "Sally Lightfoot"...
abound. At the skirts and calderas of the volcanoes of Isabela, land iguanas and Galápagos tortoises can be observed, as well as Darwin finches, Galápagos hawks, Galápagos doves and very interesting lowland vegetation. The third-largest human settlement of the archipelago, Puerto VillamilPuerto Villamil is a small port village located on the southeastern edge of Isla Isabela in the Galapagos Islands. Of the 2,200 people who live on Isabela, the majority live in Puerto Villamil...
, is located at the southeastern tip of the island. It is the only island to have the equatorAn equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
run across it. It is also the only place in the world where a penguin can be in its natural habitat in the Northern HemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
.
- Marchena (Bindloe) Island
Named after Fray Antonio Marchena, Marchena Island has an area of 130 km² and a maximum altitude of 343 meters.There aren't any visitor's sites on this island, although it is possible to dive in the waters around Marchena on organised tours....
: Named after Fray Antonio Marchena, it has an area of 130 square kilometers (50 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 343 meters (1,125 ft).
Galápagos hawks and sea lions inhabit this island, and it is home to the Marchena lava lizard, an endemic animal.
- North Seymour Island
North Seymour is a small island near to Baltra Island in the Galapagos Islands. It was formed by uplift of a submarine lava formation. The whole island is covered with low, bushy vegetation....
– Its name was given after an English nobleman, Lord Hugh SeymourVice-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late 18th century who was the fifth son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and became known for being both a prominent society figure and a highly competent naval officer...
. It has an area of 1.9 square kilometers (0.7 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 28 meters (92 ft). This island is home to a large population of blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls. It hosts one of the largest populations of frigate birds. It was formed from geological uplift.
Just north of the
Baltra AirportSeymour Airport is an airport serving the island of Baltra, one of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.- Facilities :The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level...
is the small islet of North Seymour. North Seymour was created by seismic uplift, rather than being of volcanic origin. The island has a flat profile with cliffs only a few meters from the shoreline, where swallowtail gulls and
tropicbirdTropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon...
s sit perched in ledges. A tiny forest of silver-grey
Palo SantoPalo Santo is Shearwater's fourth full-length album, released on May 9, 2006, on Misra Records. The album was re-released in an expanded, partly re-recorded, fully remastered and repackaged edition on April 10, 2007, on the label Matador Records....
trees stand just above the landing, usually without leaves, waiting for rain to bring them into bloom. The island is teeming with life. While visiting the island, one may have to give way to a passing sea lion or marine iguana. Flocks of pelicans and swallow-tailed gulls feed off shore, and seasonally, Nazca boobies can also be seen.
North Seymour is an extraordinary place for breeding birds, and is home to one of the largest populations of nesting blue-footed boobies and magnificent frigate birds. Pairs of blue-footed boobies can be seen conducting their mating ritual as they offer each other gifts, whistle and honk, stretch their necks towards the sky, spread their wings, and dance—showing off their bright blue feet.
Magnificent FrigatebirdThe Magnificent Frigatebird was sometimes previously known as Man O'War, reflecting its rakish lines, speed, and aerial piracy of other birds....
s perch in low bushes, near the boobies, while watching over their large chicks. The frigates are huge, dark aerobats with a 90 inches (2.3 m) wingspan. Male frigates can puff up their scarlet throat sacks to resemble giant red balloons. Boobies and frigates have an interesting relationship. Boobies are excellent hunters and fish in flocks. The frigates by comparison are pirates, they dive bomb the boobies to force them to drop their prey. Then, the aerobatic frigate swoops down and picks up the food before it hits the water.
- Pinzón (Duncan) Island
Pinzón Island, sometimes called Duncan Island , is an island in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.Pinzón is home to giant tortoises, sea lions and other endemic species...
– Named after the Pinzón brothers, captains of the Pinta and Niña caravels, it has an area of 18 square kilometers (7 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 458 meters (1,503 ft).
- Pinta (Abingdon) Island
Pinta Island is an island located in the Galapagos Islands group, Ecuador. It has an area of 60 km² and a maximum altitude of 777 meters....
– Named after the Pinta caravel, it has an area of 60 km² (23.2 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 777 metres (2,549.2 ft). Sea lions, Galápagos hawks, giant tortoises, marine iguanas, and dolphins can be seen here. Pinta Island was home to the last remaining Pinta tortoise, called Lonesome GeorgeLonesome George is a tortoise, the last known individual of the Pinta Island tortoise , which is one of eight to fifteen extant subspecies of Galápagos tortoise, all of which are native to the Galápagos Islands...
. He does not live on Pinta Island any longer, but at the Charles Darwin Research StationThe Charles Darwin Research Station is a biological research station operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation. It is located in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, with satellite offices on Isabela and San Cristóbal islands.- Background :In Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island,...
on Santa Cruz Island, where scientists are attempting to breed him.
- Rábida (Jervis) Island
Rábida Island, is one of the Galápagos Islands. The island has also been known as Jervis Island named in honour of the 18th-century British admiral John Jervis. In Ecuador it is officially known as Isla Rábida.-Geography:...
– It bears the name of the convent of Rábida, where Columbus left his son during his voyage to the Americas. It has an area of 4.9 square kilometers (1.9 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 367 meters (1,204 ft). The high amount of iron contained in the lava at Rábida gives it a distinctive red color. White-cheeked pintail ducks live in a saltwater lagoon close to the beach, where brown pelicans and boobies have built their nests. Until recently, flamingos were also found in the lagoon, but they have since moved on to other islands, likely due to a lack of food on Rábida. Nine species of finches have been reported in this island.
- San Cristóbal (Chatham) Island
San Cristóbal is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, and one of the oldest geologically.Its Spanish name "San Cristóbal" comes from the patron saint of seafarers, St. Christopher...
– It bears the name of the patron saint of seafarers, "St. Christopher". Its English name was given after William Pitt, 1st Earl of ChathamWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
. It has an area of 558 square kilometers (215 sq mi) and its highest point rises to 730 meters (2395 ft). This is the first island in the Galapagos Archipelago Charles Darwin visited during his voyage on the Beagle. This islands hosts frigate birdsThe frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them...
, sea lionSea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear-flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short thick hair. Together with the fur seal, they comprise the family Otariidae, or eared seals. There are six extant and one extinct species in five genera...
s, giant tortoises, blue- and red-footed boobiesA booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...
, tropicbirds, marine iguanaThe Marine Iguana is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile. The Iguana can dive over 30 ft into the water. It has spread to all the islands in the archipelago, and is...
s, dolphinDolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 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 eating...
s and swallow-tailed gullThe Swallow-tailed Gull is an equatorial seabird in the gull family Laridae. It is the only species in the genus Creagrus, which derives from the Latin Creagra and the Greek kreourgos which means butcher, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the...
s. Its vegetation includes Calandrinia galapagos, Lecocarpus darwinii, and trees such as Lignum vitae. The largest freshwater lake in the archipelago, Laguna El Junco, is located in the highlandThe term highland or upland is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau. Generally speaking, the term upland tends to be used for ranges of hills, typically up to 500-600m, and highland for ranges of low mountains.The Scottish Highlands refers to the mountainous...
s of San Cristóbal. The capital of the province of Galápagos, Puerto Baquerizo MorenoPuerto Baquerizo Morno is the capital of the Galápagos Province, in Ecuador. It is located along the southwestern coast of San Cristóbal, the easternmost island in the archipelago....
, lies at the southern tip of the island.
- Santa Cruz (Indefatigable) Island (Galápagos)
Santa Cruz Island is one of the Galápagos Islands with an area of and a maximum altitude of .Situated in the center of the archipelago, Santa Cruz is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban centre in the islands. On Santa Cruz there are some...
– Given the name of the Holy Cross in Spanish, its English name derives from the British vessel HMS IndefatigableHMS Indefatigable was one of the Ardent class 64-gun third-rate ships-of-the-line designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1761 for the Royal Navy. She had a long career under several distinguished commanders, serving throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
. It has an area of 986 square kilometers (381 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 864 meters (2834 ft). Santa Cruz hosts the largest human population in the archipelago, the town of Puerto AyoraPuerto Ayora is a town in central Galápagos, Ecuador. Located on the southern shore of Santa Cruz Island, it is the seat of Santa Cruz Canton. The town is named in honor of Isidro Ayora, an Ecuadorian president. The town is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Santa Cruz.Puerto Ayora is the most...
. The Charles Darwin Research StationThe Charles Darwin Research Station is a biological research station operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation. It is located in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, with satellite offices on Isabela and San Cristóbal islands.- Background :In Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island,...
and the headquarters of the Galápagos National Park Service are located here. The GNPS and CDRS operate a tortoise breeding center here, where young tortoises are hatched, reared, and prepared to be reintroduced to their natural habitatA habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
. The Highlands of Santa Cruz offer exuberant flora, and are famous for the lava tunnels. Large tortoise populations are found here. Black Turtle Cove is a site surrounded by mangroves, which sea turtles, rays and small sharks sometimes use as a mating area. Cerro Dragón, known for its flamingo lagoon, is also located here, and along the trail one may see land iguanas foraging.
- Santa Fé (Barrington) Island
Santa Fe Island , also called Barrington Island after admiral Samuel Barrington, is a small island of 24 km² which lies in the centre of the Galapagos archipelago, to the south east of Santa Cruz Island. Geologically it is one of the oldest, since volcanic rocks of about 4 million years old...
– Named after a city in Spain, it has an area of 24 square kilometers (9 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 259 meters (850 ft). Santa Fe hosts a forest of OpuntiaOpuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
cactusA cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
, which are the largest of the archipelago, and Palo Santo. Weathered cliffIn geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
s provide a haven for swallow-tailed gulls, red-billed tropic birds and shear-waters petrelsShearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus...
. Santa Fe speciesThe Barrington Land Iguana, or the Santa Fe Land Iguana, is a species of lizard in the Iguanidae family. It is one of three species of Conolophus.It is endemic to Santa Fe Island in the Galapagos.-Taxonomy:...
of land iguanasThe Galapagos Land Iguana is a species of lizard in the Iguanidae family. It is one of three species of the genus Conolophus...
are often seen, as well as lava lizards.
- Santiago (San Salvador, James) Island (Galápagos)
Santiago Island is an island of the Galápagos Islands. It is also known as San Salvador, named after the first island discovered by Columbus in the Caribbean Sea , or as James Island. The island, which consists of two overlapping volcanoes, has an area of 585 km² and a maximum altitude of...
– Its name is equivalent to Saint James in English; it is also known as San Salvador, after the first island discovered by Columbus in the Caribbean Sea. This island has an area of 585 square kilometers (226 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 907 meters (2976 ft). Marine iguanas, sea lions, fur seals, land and sea turtles, flamingoFlamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
s, dolphins and sharks are found here. Pigs and goats, which were introduced by humans to the islands and have caused great harm to the endemic species, have been eradicated (pigs by 2002; goats by the end of 2006). Darwin finchesDarwin's finches are a group of 14 or 15 species of passerine birds. It is still not clear which bird family they belong to, but they are not related to the true finches. They were first collected by Charles Darwin on the Galápagos Islands during the second voyage of the Beagle...
and Galápagos hawks are usually seen, as well as a colony of fur seals. At Sulivan Bay, a recent (around 100 years ago) pahoehoe lava flowLava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
can be observed.
- Wolf (Wenman) Island
Wolf Island or Wenman 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...
– This island was named after the German geologist Theodor WolfTheodor Wolf was a German naturalist who studied the Galápagos Islands during the late nineteenth century. Wolf Island is named after him. The wolf volcano on Isabela Island was also named after him...
. It has an area of 1.3 square kilometers (0.5 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 253 meters (830 ft). Here, fur sealFur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere...
s, frigatebirds, Nazca and red-footed boobies, marine iguanas, sharks, whales, dolphins and swallow-tailed gulls can be seen. The most famous resident is the vampire finchThe Vampire Finch is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. It is a very distinct subspecies of the Sharp-beaked Ground Finch endemic to Wolf and Darwin Islands....
, which feeds partly on blood pecked from other birds, and is only found on this island.
Minor islands
- Daphne Major
Daphne Major is a volcanic island just north of Santa Cruz Island and just west of the Baltra Airport in the archipelago Colon, commonly known as the Galápagos Islands...
– A small island directly north of Santa Cruz and directly west of Baltra, this very inaccessible island appears, though unnamed, on Ambrose Cowley's 1684 chart. It is important as the location of multidecade finch population studies by Peter and Rosemary GrantPeter Raymond Grant and Barbara Rosemary Grant, a married couple, are both British evolutionary biologists at Princeton University; each holds the position of Emeritus Professor. They are noted for their work concerning Darwin's finches on the Galápagos Island named Daphne Major...
.
- South Plaza Island
South Plaza is a small island off the east coast of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos Islands. It has an area of 0.13 km˛ and a maximum altitude of 23 meters....
(Plaza Sur) – It is named in honor of a former president of Ecuador, General Leonidas PlazaLeónidas Plaza Gutiérrez was an Ecuadorian political figure. He served as the President of Ecuador between 1901 and 1905 and again from 1912 until 1916. He was the father of Galo Plaza Lasso.-External links:*...
. It has an area of 0.13 square kilometers (0.05 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 23 meters (75 ft). The flora of South Plaza includes OpuntiaOpuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
cactus and Sesuvium plants, which form a reddish carpet on top of the lava formations. Iguanas (land, marine and some hybrids of both species) are abundant, and large numbers of birds can be observed from the cliffs at the southern part of the island, including tropic birds and swallow-tailed gulls.
- Nameless Island
Nameless Island is an islet of the Galapagos Islands group, in Ecuador. The island is most commonly used for scuba diving.-References:...
– A small islet used mostly for scuba divingScuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
.
Weather
Although located on the Equator, the
Humboldt CurrentThe Humboldt Current , also known as the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north-westward along the west coast of South America from the southern tip of Chile to northern Peru. It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and can extend...
brings cold water to the islands, causing frequent drizzles during most of the year. The weather is periodically influenced by the El Niño events, which occur about every 3-7 years and are characterized by warm sea surface temperatures, a rise in sea level, greater wave action, and a depletion of nutrients in the water.
During the season known as the
garua (June to November), the temperature by the sea is 22 °C (72 °F), a steady and cold wind blows from south and southeast, frequent drizzles (
garuas) last most of the day, and dense fog conceals the islands. During the warm season (December to May), the average sea and air temperature rises to 25 °C (77 °F), there is no wind at all, there are sporadic, though strong, rains and the sun shines.
Weather changes as altitude increases in the large islands. Temperature decreases gradually with altitude, while precipitation increases due to the condensation of moisture in clouds on the slopes. There is a large range in precipitation from one place to another, not only with altitude, but also depending on the location of the islands, and also with the seasons.
The following table corresponding to the wet 1969 shows the variation of precipitation in different places of Santa Cruz Island:
| Location |
Charles Darwin
Station |
Devine Farm |
Media Luna |
| Altitude |
6 m |
320 m |
620 m |
| January |
23.0 mm |
78.0 mm |
172.6 mm |
| February |
16.8 mm |
155.2 mm |
117.0 mm |
| March |
249.0 mm |
920.8 mm |
666.7 mm |
| April |
68.5 mm |
79.5 mm |
166.4 mm |
| May |
31.4 mm |
214.6 mm |
309.8 mm |
| June |
16.8 mm |
147.3 mm |
271.8 mm |
| July |
12.0 mm |
42.2 mm |
135.6 mm |
| August |
3.8 mm |
13.7 mm |
89.5 mm |
| September |
18.5 mm |
90.9 mm |
282.6 mm |
| October |
3.2 mm |
22.6 mm |
96.5 mm |
| November |
11.0 mm |
52.8 mm |
172.7 mm |
| December |
15.7 mm |
84.1 mm |
175.3 mm |
|
| TOTALS |
469.7 mm |
1901.7 mm |
2656.4 mm |
The precipitation also depends on the geographical location. During March 1969, the precipitation over Charles Darwin Station, on the southern coast of Santa Cruz was 249 mm (9.8 in), while on Baltra Island, the precipitation during the same month was only 137.6 mm (5.42 in). This is because Baltra is located behind Santa Cruz with respect to the prevailing southerly winds, so most of the moisture gets precipitated in the Santa Cruz highlands.
There are significant changes in precipitation from one year to another, too. At Charles Darwin Station, the precipitation during March 1969 was 249 mm (9.8 in), but during March 1970, it was only 1.2 mm (0.047244094488189 in).
History
European discovery of the Galápagos Islands occurred when Spaniard
Fray Tomás de BerlangaFray Tomás de Berlanga was the fourth bishop of Panama.Tomas de Berlanga was born in Berlanga de Duero in Soria, Spain. In 1535, he sailed to Peru to settle a dispute between Francisco Pizarro and his lieutenants after the conquest of the Inca Empire...
, the fourth Bishop of
PanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, sailed to
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
to settle a dispute between
Francisco PizarroFrancisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
and his lieutenants. De Berlanga's vessel drifted off course when the winds diminished, and his party reached the islands on 10 March 1535. According to a 1952 study by
Thor HeyerdahlThor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands...
and Arne Skjølsvold, remains of potsherds and other artifacts from several sites on the islands suggest visitation by South American peoples prior to the arrival of the Spanish. However, no remains of graves, ceremonial vessels and constructions have ever been found, suggesting no permanent settlement occurred at the time.
The Galápagos Islands first appeared on the maps, of
Gerardus Mercatorthumb|right|200px|Gerardus MercatorGerardus Mercator was a cartographer, born in Rupelmonde in the Hapsburg County of Flanders, part of the Holy Roman Empire. He is remembered for the Mercator projection world map, which is named after him...
and
Abraham Orteliusthumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) (April 14, 1527 – June 28,exile in England to take...
, in about 1570. The islands were named "Insulae de los Galopegos" (Islands of the Tortoises) in reference to the
giant tortoiseThe Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise, reaching weights of over and lengths of over . With life spans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates...
s found there.
The first English captain to visit the Galápagos Islands was
Richard Hawkinsthumb|250px|right|Sir Richard HawkinsAdmiral Sir Richard Hawkins was a 17th century English seaman, explorer and Elizabethan "Sea Dog", and was the son of Admiral Sir John Hawkins....
, in 1593. Until the early 19th century, the archipelago was often used as a hideout by mostly English pirates who pilfered Spanish
galleonA galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...
s carrying gold and silver from South America to Spain.
In 1793,
James ColnettJames Colnett was an officer of the British Royal Navy, an explorer, and a maritime fur trader. He served under James Cook during Cook's second voyage of exploration...
described the flora and fauna of Galápagos, and suggested the islands could be used as base for the
whalersWhaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
operating in the Pacific Ocean. He drew the first accurate navigation charts of the islands. Whalers and
maritime fur tradeThe Maritime Fur Trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese...
r killed and captured thousands of the Galápagos tortoises to extract their fat. The tortoises could be kept on board ship as a means of providing of fresh protein, as these animals could survive for several months on board without any food or water. The hunting of the tortoises was responsible for greatly diminishing, and in some cases eliminating, certain species. Along with whalers came the fur-seal hunters, who brought the population of this animal close to extinction.
The first known permanent human resident on Galapagos was
Patrick WatkinsPatrick Watkins was an Irish sailor who was marooned on Floreana, an island of the Galápagos Islands, from 1807 to 1809. He was the first resident of the Galapagos. According to later accounts, Watkins managed to survive by hunting, growing vegetables, and trading with visiting whalers, before...
, an Irish sailor who was marooned on the Island Floreana from 1807–1809. According to later accounts, Watkins managed to survive by hunting, growing vegetables and trading with visiting whalers, before finally stealing an open boat and navigating to Guayaquil.
In 1818 the Nantucket whaleship "Globe", Captain George Washington Gardner, had discovered a "mother lode" of sperm whales some thousand miles west of the South American coast approximately at the equator. He returned to Nantucket in 1820 with more than 2000 barrels of sperm whale oil and the news of his discovery. This led to an influx of whale ships to exploit the new whaling ground and the Galapagos Islands became a frequent stop for the whalers both before and after visiting what came to be known as the Offshore Grounds. This led to the establishment in the Galapagos Islands of a kind of unofficial "post office" where whaleships stopped to pick up and drop off letters as well as for purposes of reprovisioning and repairs.
In October 1820, the whaleship Essex, out of Nantucket, stopped at the Galapagos for these purposes on its way to the Offshore Grounds. On what was then known as Charles Island, while most of the crew were hunting tortoises one crewmember, English boatsteerer Thomas Chappel, for reasons still unclear, lit a fire which quickly burned out of control. Some of the tortoise hunters had a narrow escape and had to run a gauntlet of fire to get back to the ship. Soon almost the entire island was in flames. Crewmembers reported that after a day of sailing away they could still see the flames against the horizon. One crewmember who returned to the Galapagos several years afterward described the entire island as still a blackened wasteland.
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
annexed the Galápagos Islands on 12 February 1832, naming them the Archipelago of Ecuador. This new name added to several names that had been, and are still, used to refer to the archipelago. The first governor of Galápagos, General José de Villamil, brought a group of convicts to populate the island of Floreana, and in October 1832, some artisans and farmers joined them.
The voyage of the BeagleThe second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after her previous captain committed suicide...
brought the survey ship
HMS BeagleHMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
, under captain
Robert FitzRoyVice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality...
, to the Galápagos on 15 September 1835 to survey approaches to harbours. The captain and others on board, including his companion, the young naturalist
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, made observations on the geology and biology on Chatham, Charles, Albemarle and James islands before they left on 20 October to continue on their round-the-world expedition. Primarily a geologist at the time, Darwin was impressed by the quantity of volcanic craters they saw, later referring to the archipelago as "that land of craters." His study of several volcanic formations over the 5 weeks he stayed in the islands, led to several important geological discoveries, including the first, correct explanation for how volcanic
tuffTuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
is formed. Darwin noticed the
mockingbirdMockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the Mimidae family. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. There are about 17 species in three genera...
s differed between islands, though he thought the birds now known as
Darwin's finchesDarwin's finches are a group of 14 or 15 species of passerine birds. It is still not clear which bird family they belong to, but they are not related to the true finches. They were first collected by Charles Darwin on the Galápagos Islands during the second voyage of the Beagle...
were unrelated to each other, and did not bother labelling them by island. The Englishman Nicolas Lawson, acting Governor of Galápagos for the Republic of the Equator, met them on
Charles Island, and as they walked to the prison colony, told Darwin the tortoises differed from island to island. Towards the end of the voyage, Darwin speculated that the distribution of the mockingbirds and the tortoises might "undermine the stability of Species". When specimens of birds were analysed on his return to England, it was found that many apparently different kinds of birds were species of
finchThe true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
es, which were unique to islands. These facts were crucial in Darwin's development of his theory of
natural selectionNatural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
explaining
evolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, which was presented in
The Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the...
.
José Valdizán and Manuel Julián Cobos tried a new colonization, beginning the exploitation of a type of lichen found in the islands (
Roccella portentosa) used as a coloring agent. After the assassination of Valdizán by some of his workers, Cobos brought from the continent a group of more than a hundred workers to San Cristóbal Island, and tried his luck at planting sugar cane. He ruled his plantation with an iron hand, which led to his assassination in 1904. In 1897, Antonio Gil began another plantation on Isabela Island.
Over the course of a whole year, from September 1904, an expedition of the Academy of Sciences of California, led by
Rollo BeckRollo Howard Beck was an American ornithologist, bird collector and explorer. Beck's Petrel is named after him.-Early years:...
, stayed in the Galápagos collecting scientific material on
geologyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
,
entomologyEntomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
,
ornithologyOrnithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
,
botanyBotany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
,
zoologyZoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and
herpetologyHerpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles...
. Another expedition from that Academy was done in 1932 (Templeton Crocker Expedition) to collect insects, fish, shells,
fossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, birds and plants.
In 1920s and 1930s, a small wave of European settlers arrived in the islands. Ecuadorian laws provided all colonists with the possibility of receiving twenty hectares each of free land, the right to maintain their citizenship, freedom from taxation for the first ten years in Galapagos, and the right to hunt and fish freely on all uninhabited islands where they might settle. The first European colonists to arrive were Norwegians who settled briefly on Floreana, before moving on to San Cristobal and Santa Cruz. A few years later, other colonists from Europe, America and Ecuador started arriving on the islands, seeking a simpler life Descendants of the Norwegian Kastdalen family and the German Angermeyer still live on the islands.
During World War II, Ecuador authorized the United States to establish a naval base in Baltra Island, and radar stations in other strategic locations. Baltra was established as a United States Army Air Force base. Crews stationed at Baltra patrolled the Pacific for enemy submarines, as well as provided protection for the
Panama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. After the war, the facilities were given to the government of Ecuador. Today, the island continues as an official Ecuadorian military base. The foundations and other remains of the US base can still be seen as one crosses the island.
In 1946, a penal colony was established in Isabela Island, but it was suspended in 1959.
The Galápagos became a national park in 1959, and tourism started in the 1960s, imposing several restrictions upon the human population already living on the island. However, opportunities in the tourism, fishing, and farming industries attracted a mass of poor fishermen and farmers from mainland Ecuador. In the 1990s and 2000s, violent confrontations between parts of the local population and the Galapagos National Park Service occurred, including capturing and killing giant tortoises and holding staff of the Galapagos National Park Service hostage to obtain higher annual sea cucumber quotas.
Politics
The islands are administered by a provincial government. It was made a province by presidential decree by President Guillermo Rodríguez Lara on 18 February 1973. The province is divided into
cantonsThe Cantons of Ecuador are the second-level subdivisions of Ecuador, below the provinces. There are 226 cantons in the country, of which three are not in any province. The cantons are further sub-divided into parishes, which are classified as either urban or rural...
, each covering certain islands. The capital is
Puerto Baquerizo MorenoPuerto Baquerizo Morno is the capital of the Galápagos Province, in Ecuador. It is located along the southwestern coast of San Cristóbal, the easternmost island in the archipelago....
.
Demographics
The Galápagos Islands is one of the few places in the world without an indigenous population. The largest ethnic group is composed of Ecuadorian
MestizoMestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
s, the mixed descendants of Spanish colonists and indigenous Native Americans, who arrived mainly in the last century from the
continentA continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
al part of
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. There is also a large number of whites, mostly of Spanish descent. Some descendants of the early European and American colonists on the islands also still remain on the islands.
In 1959, approximately 1,000 to 2,000 people called the islands their home. In 1972 a census was done in the archipelago and a population of 3,488 was recorded. By the 1980s, this number had risen to more than 15,000 people, and 2006 estimates place the population around 25,000 people.
Five of the islands are inhabited: Baltra, Floreana, Isabela,
San CristobalSan Cristóbal is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, and one of the oldest geologically.Its Spanish name "San Cristóbal" comes from the patron saint of seafarers, St. Christopher...
and
Santa CruzSanta Cruz Island is one of the Galápagos Islands with an area of and a maximum altitude of .Situated in the center of the archipelago, Santa Cruz is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban centre in the islands. On Santa Cruz there are some...
.
Conservation
Though the first protective legislation for the Galápagos was enacted in 1930 and supplemented in 1936, it was not until the late 1950s that positive action was taken to control what was happening to the native flora and fauna. In 1955, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature organized a fact-finding mission to the Galápagos. Two years later, in 1957,
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, in cooperation with the government of Ecuador, sent another expedition to study the conservation situation and choose a site for a research station.
In 1959, the centenary year of
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
's publication of
The Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the...
, the Ecuadorian government declared 97.5% of the archipelago's land area a
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
, excepting areas already colonised. The
Charles Darwin FoundationThe Charles Darwin Foundation was founded in 1959, under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Conservation Union. The Foundation is dedicated to the conservation of the Galapagos Islands ecosystems. The Charles Darwin Research Station serves as headquarters for The Foundation, and is used to...
(CDF) was founded the same year. The core responsibility of CDF, an international nongovernmental organization (NGO) constituted in Belgium, is to conduct research and provide the research findings to the government for effective management of Galápagos. CDF's research efforts began with the establishment of the
Charles Darwin Research StationThe Charles Darwin Research Station is a biological research station operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation. It is located in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, with satellite offices on Isabela and San Cristóbal islands.- Background :In Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island,...
on Santa Cruz Island in 1964. During the early years, conservation programs, such as eradication of introduced species and protection of native species, were carried out by research station personnel. Now much of that work is accomplished by the
Galapagos National ParkGalápagos National Park, established in 1959, is Ecuador's first national park. The government of Ecuador designated 97% of the land area of Galápagos as the country's first National Park...
Service using the research findings and methodologies developed by CDF.
In 1986, the 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 sq mi.) of ocean surrounding the islands was declared a
marine reserveFor the United States Marine Corps Reserve see: Marine Forces ReserveA marine reserve is an area of the sea which has legal protection against fishing or development. This is to be distinguished from a marine park, but there is some overlap in usage...
, second in size only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. In 1990, the archipelago became a whale sanctuary.
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
recognised the islands in 1978 as a
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
and in 1985, as a
biosphere reserveThe Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
. This was later extended in December 2001 to include the marine reserve.
In July 2010, the World Heritage Committee agreed to remove the Galapagos Islands from its list of precious sites endangered by environmental threats or overuse.
Noteworthy species include:
- Galápagos land iguanas, Conolophus
The Galápagos land iguanas comprise the genus Conolophus of the Galápagos Islands. The name Conolophus is derived from two Greek words: conos meaning "spiny" and lophos meaning "crest" or "plume", denoting the spiny crests along the backs of these species...
spp.
- Marine iguana
The Marine Iguana is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile. The Iguana can dive over 30 ft into the water. It has spread to all the islands in the archipelago, and is...
, Amblyrhynchus cristatus, the only iguana feeding in the sea
- Galápagos tortoise
The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise, reaching weights of over and lengths of over . With life spans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates...
(Galápagos giant tortoiseTortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
), Geochelone elephantopus, known as galápago in Spanish, it gave the name to the islands
- Galápagos green turtle, Chelonia mydas agassisi, a subspecies of the green turtle
- Sea cucumber
Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea used in fresh or dried form in various cuisines.The creature and the food product is commonly known as bêche-de-mer in French, trepang in Indonesian, namako in Japanese and in the Philippines it is called balatan...
s, the cause of environmental battles with fishermen over quotaIndividual fishing quotas also known as "individual transferable quotas" are one kind of catch share, a means by which many governments regulate fishing. The regulator sets a species-specific total allowable catch , typically by weight and for a given time period. A dedicated portion of the TAC,...
s of this expensive Asian delicacy
- Flightless cormorant
The Flightless Cormorant , also known as the Galapagos Cormorant, is a cormorant native to the Galapagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only cormorant that has lost the ability to fly...
, Phalacrocorax harrisi
- Great frigatebird
The Great Frigatebird is a large dispersive seabird in the frigatebird family. Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic....
and magnificent frigatebirdThe Magnificent Frigatebird was sometimes previously known as Man O'War, reflecting its rakish lines, speed, and aerial piracy of other birds....
- Blue-footed booby
The Blue-footed Booby is a bird in the Sulidae family which comprises ten species of long-winged seabirds. The natural breeding habitat of the Blue-footed Booby is tropical and subtropical islands off the Pacific Ocean, most famously, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.- Etymology :The name booby...
, Sula nebouxii, popular among visitors for their large blue feet which they show off in courtship
- Galápagos penguin
The Galapagos Penguin is a penguin endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It is the only penguin that lives north of the equator in the wild; it can survive due to the cool temperatures resulting from the Humboldt Current and cool waters from great depths brought up by the Cromwell Current...
, Spheniscus mendiculus, the only living tropical penguinPenguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
- Waved albatross
The Waved Albatross, Phoebastria irrorata - also known as Galapagos Albatross - is the only member of the Diomedeidae family located in the tropics. When they forage, the Waved Albatross follow straight paths to a single site off the coast of Peru, about distant to the east...
, Phoebastria irrorata, the only living tropical albatrossAlbatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
- Galápagos hawk
The Galapagos Hawk is a large hawk endemic to the Galapagos Islands.-Physical description:Similar in size to the Red-tailed Hawk and the Swainson's Hawk of North America, the Galapagos Hawk is about 55 cm from beak to tail with a wingspan of 120 cm...
, Buteo galapagoensis, the islands' main scavengerScavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...
and "environmental police"
- Four endemic
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
species of Galápagos mockingbirds, the first species Darwin noticed to vary from island to island
- Thirteen endemic species of tanager
The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has an American distribution.There were traditionally about 240 species of tanagers, but the taxonomic treatment of this family's members is currently in a state of flux...
s, popularly called Darwin's finchesDarwin's finches are a group of 14 or 15 species of passerine birds. It is still not clear which bird family they belong to, but they are not related to the true finches. They were first collected by Charles Darwin on the Galápagos Islands during the second voyage of the Beagle...
. Among them is the sharp-beaked ground finch Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis which is sometimes called the "vampire finch" for its blood-sucking habits, and the tool-using woodpecker finchThe Woodpecker Finch, Camarhynchus pallidus, is a species of bird in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager family Thraupidae. Woodpecker Finches occur widely in the Galapagos Islands, from sea level to high elevations....
, Camarhynchus pallidus
- Galápagos sea lion
The Galápagos sea lion , a species of sea lion, exclusively breeds on the Galápagos Islands and – in smaller numbers – on Isla de la Plata . Being fairly social, and one of the most numerous species in the Galápagos archipelago, they are often spotted sun-bathing on sandy shores or rock groups or...
s, Zalophus wollebaeki, closely related to the California sea lion, but smaller
Environmental threats
Introduced plants and animals, such as feral goats, cats, and cattle, brought accidentally or willingly to the islands by humans, represent the main threat to Galápagos. Quick to reproduce and with no natural predators, these alien species decimated the habitats of native species. The native animals, lacking natural predators on the islands, are defenseless to introduced predators.
Some of the most harmful introduced plants are the guayaba or
guavaGuavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
(
Psidium guajava),
avocadoThe avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
(
Persea americana), cascarilla (
Cinchona pubescens),
balsaOchroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree , is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to tall. It is the source of balsa wood, a very lightweight material with many uses...
(
Ochroma pyramidale), hill raspberry (
Rubus niveus), various
citrusCitrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
(orange,
grapefruitThe grapefruit , is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados. When found, it was named the "forbidden fruit"; it has also been misidentified with the pomelo or shaddock , one of the parents of this hybrid, the other being sweet orange The...
, lemon), floripondio, higuerilla (
Ricinus communis) trees and the elephant grass,
Pennisetum purpureum. These plants have invaded large areas and eliminated endemic species in the humid zones of San Cristobal, Floreana, Isabela and Santa Cruz. Also, these harmful plants are just a few of introduced species on the Galápagos Islands. There are over 700 introduced plant species today. There are only 500 native and endemic species. This difference is creating a major problem for the islands and the natural species that inhabit them.
Many species were introduced to the Galápagos by pirates.
Thor HeyerdahlThor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands...
quoted documents that mention the Viceroy of Peru, knowing that British pirates ate the goats that they themselves had released in the islands, ordered dogs to be freed there to eliminate the goats Also, when colonization of Floreana by José de Villamil failed, he ordered the goats, donkeys, cattle and other animals from the farms in Floreana be transferred to other islands for the purpose of later colonization.
Non-native goats, pigs, dogs, rats, cats, mice, sheep, horses, donkeys, cows, poultry, ants, cockroaches, and some parasites inhabit the islands today. Dogs and cats attack the tame birds and destroy the nests of birds, land tortoises, and marine turtles. They sometimes kill small Galápagos tortoises and iguanas. Pigs are even more harmful, covering larger areas and destroying the nests of tortoises, turtles and iguanas, as well as eating the animals' native food. Pigs also knock down vegetation in their search for roots and insects. This problem abounds in Cerro Azul volcano and Isabela, and in Santiago, pigs may be the cause of the disappearance of the land iguanas that were so abundant when Darwin visited. The black rat (
Rattus rattus) attacks small Galápagos tortoises when they leave the nest, so in Pinzón they stopped the reproduction for a period of more than 50 years; only adults were found on that island. Also, where the black rat is found, the endemic rat has disappeared. Cattle and donkeys eat all the available vegetation and compete with native species for the scarce water. In 1959, fishermen introduced one male and two female goats to Pinta island; by 1973, the National Park service estimated the population of goats to be over 30,000 individuals. Goats were also introduced to Marchena in 1967 and to Rabida in 1971. A recent goat eradication program, however, has cleared most of the goat population from Isabela.
The fast-growing poultry industry on the inhabited islands has been cause for concern from local conservationists, who fear domestic birds could introduce disease into the endemic wild bird populations.
The Galápagos marine sanctuary is under threat from a host of illegal fishing activities, in addition to other problems of development. The most pressing threat to the Marine Reserve comes from local, mainland and foreign fishing targeting marine life illegally within the Reserve, such as sharks (hammerheads and other species) for their fins, and the harvest of sea cucumbers out of season. Development threatens both land and sea species. The growth of both the tourism industry and local populations fuelled by high birth rates and illegal immigration threaten the wildlife of the Archipelago. The grounding of the oil tanker
JessicaThe Jessica was an oil tanker that was involved in an oil spill in the Galápagos Islands, a chain of islands 972 km west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part. The ship was registered in Ecuador and owned by Acotramar...
in 2001 and the subsequent oil spill brought this threat to world attention.
Currently, the rapidly growing problems, including tourism and a human population explosion, are further destroying habitats.
In 2007,
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
put the Galápagos Islands on their List of World Heritage in Danger because of threats posed by invasive species, unbridled tourism and overfishing.
On 29 July 2010, the
World Heritage CommitteeThe World Heritage Committee establishes the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties...
decided to remove the Galapagos Islands from the list because the Committee found significant progress had been made by Ecuador in addressing these problems.
On 28 January 2008,
Galapagos National ParkGalápagos National Park, established in 1959, is Ecuador's first national park. The government of Ecuador designated 97% of the land area of Galápagos as the country's first National Park...
official Victor Carrion announced 53 sea lions (13 pups, 25 youngsters, 9 males and 6 females) were killed at
PintaPinta Island is an island located in the Galapagos Islands group, Ecuador. It has an area of 60 km² and a maximum altitude of 777 meters....
, Galapagos Islands nature reserve, with their heads caved in. In 2001, poachers killed 35 male sea lions.
The Galápagos Islands were short-listed as a candidate to be one of the New7Wonders of Nature by the New7Wonders of Nature Foundation. As of February 2009, the archipelago was ranked first in Group B, the category for islands.
See also
- Galápagos hotspot
The Galápagos hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the East Pacific Ocean responsible for the creation of the Galapagos Islands as well as three major aseismic ridge systems, Carnegie, Cocos and Malpelso which are on two tectonic plates. The hotspot is located near the Equator on the Nazca Plate not...
- Galápagos Province
Galápagos is a province of Ecuador in the country's Insular region, located approximately off the western coast of the mainland. The capital is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno....
- Albatross Foundation USA
The Albatross Foundation USA is a non-profit, community-based organization, which was initiated and is led by residents of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno in San Cristóbal Island, the administrative capital of the Galápagos Islands Province of the Republic of Ecuador...
- Galapagos National Park
Galápagos National Park, established in 1959, is Ecuador's first national park. The government of Ecuador designated 97% of the land area of Galápagos as the country's first National Park...
- Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
Further reading
- Black, Juan (1973). Galápagos, Archipiélago del Ecuador. (Quito, Ecuador). Comprehensive monograph by a former officer of Galápagos National Park, financed by the World Wildlife Fund and the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galápagos Islands
- Grant, K. Thalia and Estes, Gregory B. (2009). Darwin in Galapagos: Footsteps to a New World. Princeton University Press, Princeton. http://www.darwiningalapagos.com.
- Heyerdahl, Thor
Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands...
; & Skjolsvold, Arne (1956). Archaeological Evidence of Pre-Spanish Visits to the Galápagos Islands, Memoirs 12, Society for American ArchaeologyThe Society for American Archaeology is the largest organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas in the world. The Society was founded in 1934 and today has over 7000 members. The Society holds an annual conference and publishes the flagship journal of American archaeology,...
.
- Müller, Bodo; & Stolt, Matthias (2003). Galápagos Die verwunschenen Inseln. (BLV). ISBN 3-86108-909-2.
- Quammen, David (1996). The Song of the Dodo. Touchstone, New York.
- Romero, Simon (4 October 2009). "To Protect Galápagos, Ecuador Limits a Two-Legged Species". The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
External links