Galapagos Islands

Today we are going to talk about the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Islands are part of the Republic of Ecuador and are known as a volcanic archipelago. This type of island is located 906 km west of continental Ecuador. The islands on the Galapagos Islands are known for their large number of endemic species. So let's gather a little more information about Galapagos Islands.

The waters surrounding the Galapagos Islands from Ecuador and its national parks and the Galápagos province of the Galápagos Marine Reserve. The main language on the Galapagos Islands is Spanish. The Galapagos Islands have a population of just over 25,000.

History

In 1593, Richard Hawkins became the first English captain to reach the Galapagos Islands. Some Spanish voyagers also pass through the Galapagos Islands while transporting commodities from South America to Spain. The English pirates also used these types of islands to plunder the Spanish treasure fleet. The flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands were described in 1793 by James Colnett.

Ecuador annexed this type of island in February 1832 as part of its territory and was renamed Ecuador. General Jose de Villamil, the first governor of Iceland and brought accusations to populate Floreana Island. Darwin arrived in the Galapagos Islands in September 1835 when HMS Beagle surveyed the islands.

Environmental Protection Policy

The Galapagos Islands' first protective law was enacted in 1930. In 1955, the International Union for Conservation of Nature organized a fact-finding mission to the Islands of this type. The 70,000 square kilometers of marine reserve around the Galapagos Islands was declared in 1986 and is the only size in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. In 1990, the Galapagos Islands became a whale sanctuary.

The Galapagos Islands were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978 and a Biosphere Reserve in 1985. And it was then expanded in December 2001 to include marine reserves in the Galapagos Islands. In July 2010, the World Heritage Committee agreed to remove these islands from the list of environmental threats.

Geography

The Islands of this type are spread over an estimated area of ​​45,000 km2 by sea. The Galapagos Islands have an estimated total land area of ​​about 7,880 km2. The Galapagos Islands cover about three-quarters of its total land area and more than the size of the second largest island. This type of archipelago sits at the Galapagos Triple Junction, and three tectonic plates meet in the same area.

The islands on the Galapagos Islands typically sit on the Nazca Plate and on the Galapagos hotspot and are known as volcanic hotspots and where the mantle plum melts the earth's crust and leads it to the volcano. There are volcanic islands on the Islands of this type and some of them are still active.

Fernandina and Isabella are still forming from the Galapagos Islands at least 8 million years ago. Some of the older islands of the Galapagos Islands have sunk under the sea. Most of the islands developed from lava mounds on the Galapagos Islands are typically hard and dry. And the Galapagos Islands have high volcanic peaks, craters and rocks. The highest point of this type of island is Mount Whiton at 1,707 meters on Isabela Island.

Marine Life And Protection

The Galapagos Islands are rich in unique biodiversity. The Galapagos Islands helped popularize Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection. The Galapagos Islands are geographically located at the junction of three ocean currents and make these islands one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world. The extreme location and isolation of the Galapagos Islands makes plant and animal life unusual on the islands.

Plenty of marine animals in the Galapagos Islands include corals, sharks and marine mammals. The Galapagos Islands include endemic species such as land iguanas, flightless cormorants, giant turtles and Darwin's finch. Other species around and around the Galapagos Islands are land snails, sea lions, mockingbirds, sea birds, rays and whale sharks.

The Galapagos Islands also have numerous endemic and native plant species. The Galapagos Islands consists of 500 vascular plants, of which 180 species are endemic. About 97% of this type of island land area is considered a national park. This type of island's national park was declared a natural heritage for humanity by UNESCO in 1979 and makes permanent conservation possible.

Climate

These types of islands connect the equator. The Galapagos Islands greatly influence the archipelago's weather patterns by bringing cold water to the current islands. The Galapagos Islands are responsible for most of the drizzles during the current year. There is very little rainfall on the Galapagos Islands. The weather on the Galapagos Islands is also very influential.

The surface of the Galapagos Islands warms up during El Niño events. The sea level rises on the Galapagos Islands and the wave actions become more and more which leads to the water nutrients. During the June-November season, the temperature in the Galapagos Islands is about 22 ° C, with steady cold winds blowing from the south. The Galapagos Islands also have frequent drizzles and dense fog, which often cover most of the islands.

December to May is the warmest season on the Galapagos Islands, when temperatures in the Galapagos Islands rise to 25 degrees Celsius. Winds are rare on the Galapagos Islands during this season and the rainfall is scattered and strong. On the Galapagos Islands the altitude increases and the temperature decreases. Rainfall is increased due to the high humidity content on the slopes and peaks of the Galapagos Islands.

Human Settlement

South Americans were the first to visit this type of island. Permanent settlements on the Galapagos Islands were only established by the Spanish in the 16th century. By 1959 about 1,000 people had called the Galapagos Islands their home. In the 1980s, more than 15,000 people lived in the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Islands have a population of about 25,000, according to the most recent census. 99% of the populations of the Galapagos Islands live in Puerto Ayora and in addition San Cristóbal has about 6,000 people.

How to Reach Galapagos Islands

Options for air travel for tourists visiting the Galapagos Islands include San Cristobal Airport in the two islands and Seymour Airport in Baltra. Private jets must use Seymour Airport as it is considered an airport equipped with overnight aircraft accommodation.

Best Time to Visit Galapagos

The busiest months for tourists are June, July and August as well as December to mid-January. The hot and rainy season from December is quiet in May and then for tourists in Iceland the daily rains mostly give way to the sunny sky. Experienced divers believe that June to November is the best time to visit the Galapagos Islands as the cool waters of the Galapagos Islands attract even more exotic marine life. And for tourists the Galapagos Islands have a better chance of finding the legendary whale shark in the Wolf and Darwin Islands.

What should a tourist do here?

The best diving on the Wolf and Darwin Islands on the tourist live boards on the Galapagos Islands, wildlife information, snorkeling, swimming with Pacific sea turtles, trekking on dry lava beds with a rim in the Highlands, a variety of activities like surfing and more. Tourists can go to see volcanoes and vegetation.