Galapagos IslandsThe Galapagos Islands (Spanish name: Islas Galápagos, official name: Archpiélago de Colón, also known as the Colón Islands) were located about 1,000 kilometers off the west coast of the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Ocean. They were distributed around the center of the western hemisphere and on both sides of the Pacific equator. It was a province in the island region of the Pacific Ocean, and its capital was the Port of Bacríso Moreno. Its geographical coordinates are between 1°40 'north latitude-1°24' south latitude and 92°00.33' - 89°13' west latitude. It consists of 13 main islands, 6 small islands and more than 100 island reefs, with a total area of 8010 km2. Isabella Island, the largest island, had an area of 5727 km2, which was about three-quarters of the total area of the archipelago. 97%(7,665,100 hectares) of the archipelago was declared a national park in 1959, and human settlements were limited to specially designated areas on four islands, with the remaining 3%(the fifth island only had an airport, tourist pier, fuel depot, and military facilities).
The archipelago has a tropical climate. December to May is the warm season, with an average temperature of 27°C to 32°C and water temperature of 21°C to 26°C. June to November is the cool season, with an average temperature of 21°C to 27°C and water temperature of 18°C to 24°C. The five largest islands were Isabela Island (Albermar Island), Flora Island (Charles Island or Santa Maria Island), San Francisco Island (San salvador Island, James Island), San Cristobal Island (Chatham Island), and Santa Claus Island (Infatigued Island). The Volcano Wolf on Isabela Island was the highest point of the archipelago, with an altitude of 1707 meters.
The archipelago was formed by volcanic eruptions. There were 21 erupting volcanoes, 13 of which were considered active volcanoes. They were located on the Galapagos seabed platform and were the result of submarine volcanic activity five million years ago. They were located at the intersection of the Nazca, Cocos, and Pacific Ocean plates and were one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The larger islands usually consisted of one or more gently inclined shield volcanoes, which eventually formed craters or calderas, and the terrain was formed by rising ocean lava flows. The archipelago was very young. The largest and youngest islands, Isabella and Fernandina, had existed for less than a million years, while the oldest islands, Espanyola and San Cristobal, had existed for between three to five million years.
It was discovered by the Panamanian bishop Frey Thomas de Berlaga in 1535. It was named the Magic Islands by Captain Diego de Ribadnera in 1546. In 1570, it was named the Insulae de los Galápagos by the cartographer Abraham Ortelius. In 1835, Charles Darwin first visited and conducted geological and biological investigations, which inspired him to propose the theory of evolution. It was also known as the Darwin Islands and the Wolf Islands because of the visits of Darwin and Wolf. As of 2015, it had more than 25200 residents and was located at the intersection of the three major ocean currents. It was a "melting pot" of marine life, with many unique native species, such as Galapagos giant turtles, sea turtles, land iguana, marine iguana, lava lizard, Galapagos penguins, fur seals, sea lions, whales, sharks, and many fish. It was the world's largest habitat for seabirds. In 1978, it was declared a natural heritage site by the United Nations Cultural and Scientific Organization. Six years later, it was declared a biosphere reserve. It was the second largest marine reserve on Earth and received more than 200,000 tourists from all over the world every year.
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