Galápagos Islands

The islands that revealed evolution to Darwin

The Galápagos are volcanic islands in the middle of the ocean where animals aren't afraid of people! Giant tortoises (250 kg, living 150 years), sea-swimming iguanas, penguins on the equator — all here. In 1835 the young scientist Charles Darwin visited and noticed that birds on each island had different beaks — that's how he understood evolution. The islands' name means 'tortoise'.

The Galápagos are 18 major volcanic islands over a hotspot 1,000 km west of Ecuador (the youngest is 1 million years old and still erupting — Wolf, 2022). The meeting of the cold Humboldt and warm Panama currents puts penguins beside corals. Isolation bred endemism: 15 species of giant tortoise (each island with its own shell shape), Darwin's finches (13 species with beaks shaped by diet), the marine iguana, the flightless cormorant, the Galápagos hawk. Darwin spent 5 weeks here on the Beagle (1835) — key evidence for 'On the Origin of Species' (1859). The first UNESCO World Heritage site (1978). A national park since 1959 (97% of the land) with a 133,000 km² marine reserve. Threats: introduced species (goats, rats, cats — millions of goats were removed), tourism (270,000 a year), El Niño. 'Lonesome George', the last Pinta tortoise, died in 2012.

Fun facts

• The Galápagos were the first site on the UNESCO World Heritage list (1978).
• The only penguins living on the equator are found here.
• Darwin spent just 5 weeks here and found the key to evolution.