A celebration of the Galápagos Islands: remote, pristine, volcanic, and bursting with flora and fauna unique in all the world…
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Where are the Galápagos Islands?
The Galápagos Islands, which straddle the equator 6oo miles West of the Ecuador mainland, were discovered by accident in 1535. The islands remained unclaimed for almost 300 years after it’s discovery before colonization began on what is now Santa María Island in 1832, when Ecuador took official possession of the archipelago. Now it’s a tourist destination “easily” visited by air from Quito or Quayaquil…
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Geography of the Galápagos Islands
With a total land area of over 3,000 square miles scattered over 23,000 square miles of ocean, the Galápagos archipelago consists of twenty-one islands and many so-call “rocks”. Each and every one born of volcanic activity and moving to the East aboard the Nazca tectonic plate at a rate of about two inches per year.
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The Charles’ Darwin Connection
The islands became internationally famous as a result of being visited in 1835 by the English naturalist Charles Darwin; their unusual fauna contributed to the groundbreaking theories on natural selection presented in his On the Origin of Species (1859).
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Galápagos Islands Tourist Pass
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Galápagos Human Habitation
The permanent population of the Galapagos is only about 32,000 (concentrated in just a few towns on a handful of islands) but is visited by more than 200,000 tourists each year.
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Galápagos Landscapes and Seascapes
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Galápagos Flora
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Random Fun
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Galápagos Fauna
Intimate access like nowhere else…
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Where to Next? (Travel Photo Essays)
What an amazing place it must have been to visit, Frank!! I remain in awe of all of the places you have been to!! Take good care, my friend!