Trifter

Discovery of the Galapagos Islands

It is impossible to know for sure who was first to set foot on the Galapagos Islands. It is likely that the Inca’s were the first to discover them. The Inca’s had no written language and there is no concrete evidence linking them to the discovery. The Galapagos Archipelago was officially discovered on March 10th,1535 by Fray Tomas de Berlanga. An accident at sea brought Berlanga to the Galapagos, but after finding no fresh water he left the islands without naming them. The Galapagos were officially named in 1574 by cartographer Abraham Ortelius.

The Galapagos Island were called the Enchanted Islands by sailors and soldiers that saw them. The fog surrounding the islands can make them seem to have disappeared, thus giving early travelers the idea that they were magical.

Many sailors and soldiers came to the Galapagos after their discovery. It is thought that during this time some native species of turtle were hunted to extinction.

The Galapagos Islands earned their fame due to the insight of a young scientist named Charles Darwin. In 1835 Darwin arrived in the Galapagos aboard the H.M.S. Beagle..Young Charles Darwin spent five weeks there and visited only four of the islands. Darwin spent his time on these islands cataloging and observing the many species of flora and fauna that he found. Darwin’s encounter with the Galapagos led to the ideas in his controversial novel “On the Origin of Species”.

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Geography and Geology of the Islands

The Galapagos Archipelago is located above and below the Equator about 600 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. The chain of islands is made up of 13 larger islands,6 smaller islands and 42 islets.

Isabella Island is the largest Island of the Galapagos with an area of roughly 1,791.5 square miles. Isabella island is also home to the highest peak in the Galapagos, Wolf Volcano, which is 5,600 ft. high.

The Galapagos were formed by volcanic activity around 5 million years ago. There are still many volcanoes on and around the islands. Some of the islands actually are volcanoes and some of the Galapagos volcanoes lie underneath the Ocean.

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Flora and Fauna

The wildlife on the Galapagos Islands are so isolated from natural predators that they show no fear of humans. This makes the Galapagos an ideal place for tourists and scientists to observe these creatures in their natural habitat.

Several of the species of animal and plant-life in the Galapagos cannot be found naturally anywhere else on the planet. The Marine Iguana is the only species of Iguana that has adapted to life in the Ocean and can only be found in the Galapagos. The Galapagos Tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise on Earth and can live to be 150 years old, they also can only be found in the Galapagos.

Species of fish, bird, land iguana, snake and gecko can all be found in the Galapagos. There are hardly any native species of mammal and no amphibians on the islands. Observations of these species and the obvious way they have adapted from similar species elsewhere led Charles Darwin to ask “How did these species come to be here? ” and more importantly ” How did they adapt physiologically to their environment? “. These species did not give birth to the theory of evolution, but are obvious examples of evolution and lend a great deal of credibility to the theory.

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Possible Dangers

Immigrants and tourism are threatening the Galapagos as we know them. As many as 120,000 tourists visit the islands every year, bringing with them invasive species and diseases that are endangering the native species. Over fishing is another cause for concern and must now be controlled by several Conservation programs working in the area.

Volcanic eruptions are a common occurrence in the Galapagos. A large eruption could cause the extinction of some species living on or around the islands.

The Galapagos Islands will almost surely change or disappear altogether during the passage of time. Man-kind can do much to ensure that this happens naturally and not by our own folly. Fortunately, conservation efforts are happening now so that future generations will have a chance to see these beautiful islands.