Galapagos Islands By: Alycia Hu

Introduction The Galapagos Islands are fascinating, whether it’s a tourist attraction or a natural wonder of the Western Hemisphere. Lots of amazing wildlife is there, like the Galapagos Hawk, which you can tell by the name, only lives on the Galapagos Islands. It lives in the habitat of the forests and the mountains on Galapagos Islands. There are lots of interesting things on the Galapagos Islands, and the mountains, the forests, the shoreline all hold awe-strucking views. There are even lava-fields there, created from the volcano's. The Galapagos Islands are truly an amazing creation of nature, and a wonder of a creation.

Description and Physical Features The Galapagos Islands are magnificent. They are full of nature, with mountains, beaches, forests and sea life. They have lot of different animals, including birds, reptiles, mammals, and marine wildlife. They also have interesting sites, like Los Gemelos, which is two “twin” pit craters. They were created when two magma chambers collapsed. That’s just one of the popular visitor sites. Another interesting thing would be the Alcedo Volcano. It is a volcano that holds the largest tortoise population in the Galapagos. It was also a volcano you could climb. It was shut down for a while. However, the fact that it holds so many tortoises in one place and the fact that you could actually climb it, a volcano, makes it pretty awesome. There’s also the scientific benefit of Galapagos Islands. There are lava tunnels because of Volcanos on Santa Cruz, and these tunnels help people understand how these islands were formed in the first place. That might help educate many people, like scientists. Did you ever hear about a “Wall Of Tears?” It’s a place with a sad story. It was built by prisoners held in the Galapagos Islands. It was built for no exact reason, and it was basically just used as a way

Description and Physical Features of punishment. It led to many people’s deaths and even the strongest person would collapse in the heat and harsh conditions. The people were exposed to injuries and accidents when building this. It may just look like a wall of lava rocks, but it holds a harsh history behind that wall. There’s even a story behind it. Some people say that wall is haunted, because they say you can hears the howls of wailing and crying, since that wall was built with sacrifices and crying. That’s how it got it’s name, The Wall Of Tears. Besides that sad wall, there’s also the popular tourist attraction, the Devil’s Crown, which is a snorkeling site near a nearly submerged volcano. It’s in the north of Cormorants Point. I bet those tourists were scared to death. In all, Galapagos Islands are very interesting and hold lots of interesting things, like some of the things I just told you. And each has a history, not just the sad, sad, Wall Of Tears.

History of the Galapagos Islands The Galapagos Islands has an interesting history. The Galapagos Islands were created due to tectonic plates. The Nazca plate was shifting towards the South-American plates, causing mantle plumes to emerge, creating volcanos, which eventually become islands. So pretty much, the Galapagos Islands were created by Volcanoes, which explain the strange shape. I described the Wall Of Tears earlier. That’s one of the most “saddest,” places there, since it led to so many deaths. However, it is still a part of the history of one of the Galapagos Islands, Isabela. (The largest island in the bunch.) Then, there’s Charles Darwin, who discovered a lot when coming here, giveing all the info to us, where we learn it.

Galapagos Island as a Wonder (It should be one of the 7 Wonders) I think that Galapagos Islands are fit to be a wonder. I certainly think that they are wonders. Whether it’s the animals, or the habitat and environment, I think that the Galapagos Islands are truly a wonder. The animals that can not be found anywhere else can be found here. You can find the Galapagos Penguins, you can find the Galapagos Tortoises, and the Galapagos Hawks. These can only be found in the Galapagos Islands. And don’t forget all these eye-opening sites. The Galapagos Islands holds many volcanos, and most you can see. Then there’s the sea life, which you can tell to be special. All the different species of birds soaring the sky can brighten (or shadow, should I say,) your day, and this is an wonderful place, where you can relax and just enjoy the natural wonders.