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What’s so wonderful about the Galapagos Islands?

The Galapagos are a group of volcanic islands lying on the equator in the eastern Pacific, close to South America. The oldest volcanoes boiled up from the ocean floor less than ten million years ago, creating islands of bare rock. These were gradually colonized by plants and animals, some of which—such as the land iguanas pictured here—have evolved into weird forms that are found nowhere else on Earth.

01: Hot spot chains

The Galapagos have erupted over a hot spot that now lies beneath the most western island of Fernandina. Ali the islands are being carried east by the gradual movement of the ocean floor, at the ratę of 1.5 in (3.7 cm) a year. This means that in around 26 million years they will crash into South America!

02: Active volcanoes

The active volcanoes on Fernandina and nearby Isabela erupt liquid lava that burns everything in its path. It spreads out and cools to form broad sheets of basalt rock that, over time, tum a rusty brown color. These barren wastes of bare rock are only slowly colonized by plant life, though many sea birds nest on the lava fields.

03: Green islands

While the young islands of the Western Galapagos are still volcanically active, the volcanoes on older eastern islands such as San Cristóbal and Espanola are extinct. There, volcanic rock has formed fertile soils that support lush vegetation, which, in tum, provides food for rare creatures such as giant tortoises.

04: Breeding sea birds

The Galapagos make ideał nesting sites for ocean birds.

They include the waved albatross, the cormorant, the frigatebird (above), and the blue-footed booby. Ali these birds feed at sea, either by catching fish or—in the case of the frigatebird—stealing them from other sea birds!

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