Galapagos Islands
NASA Satellite photo of the Galapagos archipelago
The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago belonging to Ecuador. They are located in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 kilometres west of Ecuador's mainland. They are famed for their vast number of endemic species and the studies conducted by Charles Darwin that led to his theory of natural selection.
The islands are distributed to the north and south of the equator. The equator crosses the northern part of the largest island, Isabela.
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2 History 3 External references |
The Galapagos Islands were declared a national park in 1959, protecting 97.5% of the archipelago's land area. The remaining area was set aside for the three human settlements that existed at that time. Approximately 1,000 to 2,000 people called the islands their home. By the 1980s, this number had dramatically risen to more than 15,000 people.
In 1986 the surrounding ocean was declared a marine reserve. UNESCO recognised the islands as a World Heritage Site in 1978, which was extended in December 2001 to include the marine reserve. The Charles Darwin Foundation dedicated to the conservation of the islands was founded in Belgium in 1959.
Noteworthy species include:
Galapagos was discovered by Fray TomÃÂás de Berlanga in 1535. The islands were uninhabited, although Thor Heyerdahl in the 1950s reported findings of pottery of South American origin that suggested earlier contacts, a theory that appears to still be controversial. Ecuador annexed the Galapagos Islands on February 12, 1832.
Charles Darwin reached the Galapagos on the Beagle in September 1835 and spent about five weeks studying the geology and biology on four of the thirteen islands.
Conservation
History
External references