Galapagos Islands By. Tamara Jones

Location The Galapagos islands lies 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. It is located in the Pacific Ocean and about 600 miles west of Ecuador in South America. The islands are located roughly 1000 km straight west of mainland Ecuador.

Geographical Features There are 19 major islands and smaller islets, whose land mass together covers 7880 km2 over an area of 50,000 km2 of Ocean. The Galapagos Islands have some old and young islands. The oldest of the islands are about 4 million years old and the youngest are still in the process of being formed. The Galapagos islands are considered to be one of the most active volcanic areas in the world.

Map of Galapagos Islands

History The Galapagos islands were first reported in 1535, by Tomas de Berlanga,while sailing on ship from Panama to Peru. The ship some how drifted there. He reported his discovery to his master Charles v of Spain. Three Centuries later the islands were mostly used by pirates, whalers, and sealers as a safe refuge and a source of fresh food and water. At the end of the 17 th century, the first scientific researchers started to visit the islands and Charles Darwin arrived on the Beagle in When he visited the Galapagos islands he observed some unique things between the species on the different islands. He was then inspired at looking at natural history in a new way and came later up with his revolutionary theory of evolution. Around 20,000 people live on four islands, Santa Cruz, Isabela, San Cristobal and floreana, dedicating themselves to fishing,farming, and tourism.

Impact on present day South America and World The Galapagos islands increased South America’s population as a whole. It was first officially known and apart of the world in 1574, when it was also put on a map as Islands of Galapagos. The Galapagos islands is a place where people visit or tour for fun and good view.

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