The Galapagos Islands
Out of the many unique places in the world, the Galapagos Islands is one of the few that can actually back this claim up with statistics. Hundreds of animals and plant species, and a large number of sea creatures call this archipelago 960 kilometers (600 miles) west of the Ecuadorian coast home. Not only is it amazing that this many plants and animals call this area home, but more impressive that half the flora and almost all the reptiles here exist no where else on earth.
These islands, that were made famous by Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, were discovered in 1535, and named El Archipelago de Colón or Columbus Archipelago. Now these islands are better known by the giant sea turtle, the Galapagos, that calls these islands home. The archipelago is comprised of 19 volcanic islands and many small islets of diverse sizes and distances from each other. The total land area of all the islands is 3,086 square miles, and they spread over 20,000 square miles of sea. Flora and fauna differ on each island, and certain species have developed different characteristics from one island to the next.
17,000 people call the Galapagos home, residing on the islands of San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Isabela, and Floreana. About half of these 17,000 live on San Cristobal Island, which is the administrative center and many others live on Santa Cruz. The island of Baltra, just a bit north of Santa Cruz is where planes from the mainland touch down and most island cruises begin on Santa Cruz island.
All of the islands are, much like the Hawaiian Islands, tips of giant oceanic volcanoes. Just like the Hawaiian Islands, the Galapagos were formed as the plate they are on, the Nazca Plate moves steadily eastward over a hotspot. Thus, the oldest islands are on the east, and the most recently formed are on the west end of the archipelago. You can still occasionally see fumaroles silently rolling up from some of the islands’ volcanoes. The highest point on the Galapagos is the Wolf Volcano on the island of Isabela. It reaches the height of 5,600 feet above sea level. The islands are assumed to be around 3 million years old. Only small areas are covered with top soil, so there aren’t many areas of thick forest. Therefore, the islands mainly are desert like. However, its location right on the equator, and proximity to where the cold Humboldt from Antarctica meets the warm El Niño current makes it an especially attractive place for marine life. Among these diverse group of animals: giant sea turtles, marine and terrestrial iguanas, sea lions, penguins and tens of thousands of species of birds. Some of the most famous inhabitants of the islands are the giant iguanas and huge sea turtles, which were decimated in the past by pirates and seafarers looking for an easy meal. Historically these animals have had little contact with humans and lack the fear they should instinctively have. The highlight of any visitors trip most likely will be that animals do not flee from humans, but they will actually approach the visitor as if to say hello.
No trip to Ecuador is truly complete without visiting these unique and somewhat bizarre islands.
