By J.C. Lewis
The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago off the coast of the South American continent and are famous for their endemic wildlife.
Charles Darwin studied the native species of the Galapagos Islands. His observations contributed to the development of his theory of evolution by natural selection and his highly influential work "The Origin of Species."
Geography
The Galapagos Islands belong politically to Ecuador, which is the closest land mass to the Islands, 604 miles away. The Islands were made a province of Ecuador in 1973.
The Galapagos Islands are very young geographically; the oldest Island was formed 5 million to 10 million years ago, while the youngest are still being formed by volcanic eruptions.
Protection
In 1959, the Ecuadoran government began protecting 97.5 percent of the land on the Galapagos Islands as a National Park.
The Galapagos Islands were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 to protect them and their notable wildlife. The designation was later extended to include the surrounding marine reserve.
The approximately 44,000 square miles of ocean surrounding the Galapagos Islands were declared a Marine Reserve in 1986. In 1990 it was also declared a whale sanctuary.
Population
The human population of the five inhabited Galapagos Islands was around 40,000 in 2006. The population has increased dramatically, from 1,000 to 2,000 people in the late 1950s, and around 15,000 in the 1980s.
Galapagos has no indigenous human population, only one of a few such places in the world. The inhabitants are mostly Ecuadorian Mestizos, decedents of Spanish colonists and indigenous Ecuadorians.
Native Species
The Galapagos Islands have many endemic native species, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. Notable species include Galapagos iguanas, tortoises, penguins, green turtles, frigatebirds, flightless cormorants and albatrosses.
Some of the more famous Galapagos birds are the varieties of mockingbirds and finches first studied by Darwin.
Galapagos Tortoises
Galapago means "saddle" in old Spanish. The Islands are believed to be named after the shell of the Galapagos tortoise, which looks like a saddle.
There are fewer than 200 Galapagos tortoises on the 13 main islands.
There are 11 subspecies of native Galapagos tortoises. One tortoise, named Lonesome George, is believed to be the last living member of his subspecies. He has been called the rarest creature in the world.
Thousands of Galapagos tortoises were captured by whalers during the 1800s. They were killed for their fat and also kept on board ships to be eaten during voyages.
Non-Native Species
Today there are several non-native species living on the Galapagos Islands, including cats, dogs, pigs, goats, rats, mice, cows, chickens and donkeys.
The introduction of non-native species has been damaging to native wildlife. They attack and kill birds, tortoises, turtles and iguanas. Some destroy nests and eat the vegetation needed by native species and compete with them for water, displacing the less aggressive native species.
About the Author:
J.C. Lewis is the editor and co-owner of a weekly newspaper, as well as a staffer and regular contributor to a group of three newspapers in Los Angeles, Calif. Her writing has appeared on USAToday.com, Hotels.com and various other websites. Lewis holds a Bachelor of Science in politics from the University of Bristol, England.
