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natural selection following his visit in
1835.
Every year, thousands of curious visi-
tors journey to the remote islands.
Relatively young, the Galapagos
sprouted out of the Pacific from a
sub oceanic lava vent on the ocean
floor. This same process created the
Hawaiian Islands,
and it con-
tinues
today in both island groups. In the
Galapagos, the vent is gradually
creeping east with the Nazca plate,
forming more islands as it moves.
There are currently sixty named
islands, the principals being Fernan-
dina, Isabela, Baltra, James, Santa
Cruz and San Cristobal.
The climate
in
the islands is generally mild and
comfortable. From June to December,
the Humboldt Current rises up from
Antarctica, its cooler air bringing
in the rainy season. In January, the
Humboldt’s withdrawal allows the
warmer equatorial current to move
in, bringing with it a dry season that
endures through May.
Situated in the Pacific some 1,000
km from the South
American con-
tinent, these
islands and
the surround-
ing marine
reserve have
been called
a unique
‘liv-
ing museum
and
showcase
of
evolution’.
Located
at the conflu-
ence of
three ocean
currents, the
Galapagos
are a ‘melting
pot’ of marine species. Ongoing
seismic and volcanic activity re-
flects the processes that formed the
islands. These processes, together
with the extreme isolation of the
islands, led to the development of
unusual animal life such as the
land iguana, the giant tortoise
and the many species of finch
that inspired Charles
Darwin’s theory
of evolution
following
his visit in
1835.
“The archipelago is a little world within itself, or
rather a satellite attached to America, whence it
has derived a few stray colonists, and has received
the general character of its indigenous produc-
tions. Considering the small size of these islands,
we feel the more astonished at the number of their
aboriginal beings, and at their confined range.
Seeing every height crowned with its crater, and
the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still
distinct, we are led to believe that within a period,
geologically recent, the unbroken ocean was here
spread out. Hence, in both space and time, we
seem to be brought somewhat nearer to that great
fact--that mystery of mysteries--the first appear-
ance of new beings on this earth”
Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle