THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

Have you ever heard of the Galapagos Islands? Many people who have heard of the Galapagos think it is just one island but it isn't. The Galapagos are an archipelago, or a group of islands formed from volcanic activity on the Nazca Plate. The first volcanic eruption was 10-15 million years ago, and the last was the Wolf Volcano in 2022.The Galapagos are changing everyday as the plate moves. The archipelago is a province of Ecuador. Ecuador is in South America and is located right on the equator. Although the Galapagos are a province of Ecuador, they are 600 miles west of South America in the Pacific Ocean. The only way to get to the Galapagos is by boat or airplane.

The islands aren’t the only thing that have changed. The animals of the Galapagos are like no other animals in the world. The thing is, none of them are truly native to the islands. Some birds flew to the islands, but most drifted on the strong ocean currents that surround the area. Most scientists believed they rafted from the mainland to the islands on pieces of wood. They came to this decision after many years of research and DNA testing on the animals on the islands. The first scientist to do a lot of research on the animals of the Galapagos was Charles Darwin. He showed how the same animal had adapted differently depending on which island it lived on. Each island has its own environment and ecosystem.

The only natural mammals that live on the Galapagos are the Sea lions and fur seals. All other mammals that live there were brought to the islands by humans. Marine mammals that swim the waters around the islands include the dolphins and whales that are passing by on their migration routes. The islands are primarily home to reptiles, birds and marine life. The one thing all the animals who live on the Galapagos have in common is how different they are from the same types of animals everywhere else. 

The most famous of the island animals is the Galapagos Tortoise. The turtles are gentle giants that can live up to 100 years and weigh 880 pounds or more. They are all related to each other but have different characteristics depending on which island they live on. Did you know that tortoises can live up to a year without food or water? They do that by storing water in their bladders that is absorbed when they need it, and sleeping 16 or more hours a day in a cool burrow.

The islands are the home to lots of different birds. There are raptors, flamingos, sea birds, and the famous penguins and blue-footed boobies. Okay! Now that you're done laughing, yes, there really are birds called boobies. The name comes from the Spanish word Bobo which means silly or clown-like. These birds on land are clumsy and awkward. They also have a silly dance when they are trying to impress a girl. In the air, they are impressive and they are very good divers when hunting for seafood to eat. I mentioned the Galapagos penguin earlier. The thing that makes them special is it is the only penguin that lives in a tropical climate north of the equator, and it is the second smallest penguin.

From one of the smallest penguins, to marine iguanas that can dive 65 feet under the ocean's surface, to massive turtles, the Galapagos Islands are unique. The ecosystem is fragile and humans have caused many animals and plants to be endangered. The 

Galapagos need humans now to preserve and protect them.