Islas Galápagos - Gheos Worldguide

Islas Galápagos (Galápagos Islands)

The Galápagos archipelago includes 18 volcanic islands that measure more than 1 km² in area, as well as many smaller islands and islets in the Pacific Ocean, some 900 km (560 miles) off the coast of Ecuador. The islands are spread out over an area around the equator that covers more than 50,000 km² (19,500 sq miles). The Galápagos archipelago is also known as the Archipelago de Colón (Archipelago of Columbus).

The largest of the Galápagos Islands is Isla Isabela, which also hosts the archipelago's highest peak, 1,707 m (5,600 ft) high Volcán Wolf. The two other most important islands in the archipelago are San Cristóbal and Santa Cruz.

Most people come to the islands for its fantastic fauna. The Galápagos Islands are home to a wide variety of unique animals that don't live anywhere else in the world, as well as sea lions, blue-footed boobies, penguins, albatrosses, turtles, giant tortoises, iguanas, whales and dolphins. For this reason, all of the Galápagos Islands are protected as part of the Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve.

Westerners started arriving on the islands after 1535 and they brought with them black and brown rats, as well as goats, which severly damaged the islands' ecosystems of endemic species.

Ecuador claimed the islands in 1832, ten years after independence. In 1835 the island's most famous visitor; Charles Darwin arrived there on the Beagle. The islands were used as a penal colony up until 1959, when the last prison closed and the entire archipelago was declared a national park.

Nowadays all visitors have to be accompanied by a certified naturalist tour guide and there are strict limits on where you can go and where not. A hefty entrance fee has to be paid upon arrival.

Flights to the Galápagos Islands are extremely expensive and so are boat tickets. Boat trips are arranged in Guayaquil, while flights depart from both Quito and Guayaquil. Flights arrive at the airport of Isla Baltra, which is about 2 hours by public transport from Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora is the archipelago's main town.

The Galápagos islands include 18 'main' islands, which have a surface area of at least 1 km². There are numerous smaller islands and islets in the archipelago.

Isla Baltra (Baltra Island, or South Seymour Island) is a small flat island located near the center of the Galápagos Islands. It is the island, where most visitors first arrive, as it is only one of two islands in the Galápagos archipelago with an airport.
- Isla Mosquera (Mosquera Island) is one of the smallest islands in the archipelago. It lies between the islands of North Seymour and Baltra and it features numerous beautiful coral reefs. As a result it's a popular place for scuba diving and snorkeling.
Isla Bartolomé (Bartolomé, or Bartholomew Island) is a small volcanic islet, not far off the east coast from Santiago Island.
Isla Darwin (Darwin, or Culpepper Island) is a small island that was named after Charles Darwin.
Isla Española (Española Island) was named so to honour the country of Spain. It is also known as Hood Island, after Viscount Samuel Hood, who was an admiral in the English Royal Navy. It is thought to have formed around 3.5 million years ago, making it one of the first formed islands of the Galápagos archipelago. Its age and remoteness are the cause of its unique endemic fauna.
- There are 2 islands called Isla Gardner (Gardner Island) in the Galápagos archipelago. One is close to Isla Española, while the other one is near Floreana.
Isla Fernandina (Fernandina, or Narborough Island) covers some 642 km² (248 sq mi) of black volcanic rock. It is the most recently formed and westernmost island in the archipelago.
Isla Floreana (Floreana, Charles, or Santa María Island) was one of the first islands in the archipelago to be inhabited. Its surface area is 173 km² (67 sq mi).
- Isla Caldwell (Caldwell Island) is a 3 km long island not far from Floreana.
- Isla Campéon (Champion Island) has a length of 1.64 km. It is one of the last refuges of the Floreana mockingbird.
- Corona del Diablo (Devil's Crown) is located off of Floreana Island. It is very close to the shore and consists of a ring of rugged rocks that stick out of the water. Its name comes from the fact that it appears like an uncomfortable crown that only the devil could wear.
- Isla Enderby (Enderby Island) is another island, where the Floreana mockingbird lives.
- There are 2 islands called Isla Gardner (Gardner Island) in the Galápagos archipelago. One is close to Floreana, while the other one is near Isla Española.
- Isla Onslow is one of the many small islands near Floreana.
- Isla Watson (Watson Island) is a small islet off the coast of Floreana Island.
Isla Genovesa (Genovesa, or Tower Island) got its name from the Italian city of Genova (Genoa), where Christopher Columbus was born. The island is mostly inhabited by thousands of birds, earning it the nickname of 'bird island'.
Isla Isabela (Isabela, or Albemarle Island) was named after Queen Isabella I of Castile. It is the largest island of the Galápagos. The island is known for its 'Wall of Tears'.
- Isla Cowley (Cowley Island) is a very small island off the coast of Isabela Island.
- Isla Los Hermanos (The Brothers Island) is a small island off Isabela.
- Roca Redonda (Round Rock) is a smal islet some 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Isabela island.
- Isletas las Tintoreras (Tintoreras Islets) consist of 7 small islets in the bay of Puerto Villamil on the island of isabela.
- Isla Tortuga (Tortuga Island) is a crescent-shaped island off the southern coast of Isabela Island. The island is actually the rim of a volcano, part of which has collapsed and it submerged. The island is home to a variety of birds, including Frigate birds and the Red-Billed Tropicbird, amongst others.
On Isla Marchena you can see Galápagos hawks, sea lions and the endemic Marchena lava lizard.
Isla Seymour Norte (North Seymour Island) is a small island that is home to populations of several bird species.
Isla Pinzón (Pinzón, or Duncan Island) is a relatively small island. It is home to giant Galápagos tortoises and Gal´pagos sea lions. A permit is required to visit it.
Isla Pinta (Pinta, or Louis Island) was named after Coumbus' caravel the Pinta. The island measures 60 km² (23 sq mi).
Isla Rábida (Rábida, or Jervis Island) is one of the smaller islands in the archipelago. It has a distinctive reddish colour, due to the high concentration of iron in the lava there.
Isla San Cristóbal (St. Christopher, or Chatham Island) is home to the Galápagos province's capital of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. The archipelago's largest freshwater lake is also located there. San Cristóbal was the first island in the Galápagos archipelago that Charles Darwin visited during his voyage on the Beagle.
- Isla Leon Dormido (Sleeping Lion Island) is located off the coast of San Cristóbal Island. The island consists of 2 large rocks that rise 140 m (450 ft) out of the ocean. The mild current between the two rocks creates an excellent habitat for a diverse amount of fish and mammal species.
Isla Santa Cruz (Holy Cross, or Indefatigable Island) was after the British frigate HMS Indefatigable that visited it in 1812. It is the location of Puerto Ayora, which is the largest town in the Galápagos archipelago. The Charles Darwin Research Station and the headquarters of the Galápagos National Park Service are located there.
- Daphne Major is a small and inaccessible island off the northern coast of Santa Cruz.
- Daphne Minor is very close to Daphne Major and it is also very similar in appearance, as both are tuff cones devoid of trees.
- Isla el Edén (Eden Island) is a sliver of volcanic rock located along the northwestern shore of the Santa Cruz Island. Isla el Edén covers only 186 m² (2,000 sq ft), but it features a diverse landscape. Parts are flat, arid and barren, while other parts feature tall cliffs, the highest one of which is 71 m (233 ft) tall.
- The Islas Guy Fawkes (Guy Fawkes Islands) consist of 2 small islaets and 2 rocks, off the northwestern coast of Santa Cruz.
Isla Santa Fé (Santa Fé, or Barrington Island) is a relatively small island, measuring only 24 km² (9.3 sq mi). it features forests of Opuntia cacti and Palo Santo. Several bird species roam the island and both land iguanas and lava lizards can be seen there.
Isla Santiago (St. James, or San Salvador Island) and its surrounding waters are home to marine iguanas, sea lions, fur seals, land and sea turtles, flamingos, dolphins and sharks. Galápagos land iguanas were reintroduced there in 2019, after a 180-year absence.
- Isla Albany (Albany Island) is not much more than a crescent-shaped rock jutting out of the ocean northwest of Santiago Island.
- Isla Beagle (Beagle Island) is a small uninhabited island not far from Santiago Island.
Isla Wolf (Wolf, or Wenman Island) is a small island in the northwest of the Galápagos archipelago. An endemic species to Wolf Island is the vampire finch, which feeds partly on blood pecked from other birds.

Some of the other smaller islands and islets in the Galápagos archipelago, include:

Isla Plaza Sur (South Plaza Island) is a small volcanic island that measures only 0.13 km² (0.050 sq mi). Its highest elevation is 23 m (75 ft). There is an abundance of birdlife on the island.
Isla Plaza Norte (North Plaza Island) is even smaller than South Plaza Island and lies immediately north of it.
Isla Sin Nombre (Nameless Island) is a small islet that is popular for scuba diving.
Isla Sombrero Chino (Chinese Hat Island) got its name for its shape. The islet consists of a gently sloping cone rising out of the ocean, appearing like an old-fashioned Chinese hat.

Accommodation is availble in the larger towns on the islands, but most people visit on a cruise and spend the nights aboard the ship.

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