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FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS MATEMATICAS Y

FSICAS.
ESCUELA DE INGENIERIA CIVIL.

INGLES II
SEMESTRE II GRUPO #5

TEMA:
GALAPAGOS ISLAND

INVESTIGADORES:
CABRERA ORDOEZ JHONNY.
GAIBOR NARVAZ LEONEL.
VELZ SOLORZANO KERRY.

Tutor:

Guayaquil-Ecuador
2014 2015
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GALAPAGOS ISLAND
The Galpagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed on either side
of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, 926 km (575 mi) west of continental Ecuador, of
which they are a part.
The Galpagos Islands and their surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province,
a national park, and a biological marine reserve. The principal language on the islands is
Spanish. The islands have a population of slightly over 25,000.
The islands are famed for their vast number of endemic species and were studied
by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections
contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
The first recorded visit to the islands happened by chance in 1535, when the Bishop of
Panam Fray Toms de Berlanga went to Peru to arbitrate in a dispute
between Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro. De Berlanga was blown off course,
though he eventually returned to the Spanish Empire and described the conditions of the
islands and the animals that inhabited them.













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The group of islands was shown and named in Abraham's atlas published in 1570. The
first crude map of the islands was made in 1684 by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley,
who named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after British royalty
and noblemen.
These names were used in the authoritative navigation charts of the islands prepared
during the Beagle survey under Captain Robert Fitzroy, and in Darwin's popular
book The Voyage of the Beagle. The then new Republic of Ecuador took the islands
from Spanish ownership in 1832, and subsequently gave the islands official Spanish
names. The older names remained in use in English language publications,
including Herman Melville's The Encantadas of 1854.

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GEOGRAPHY.
The islands are located in the eastern Pacific Ocean, 973 km (525 NMI; 605 mi) off the
west coast of South America. The closest land mass is that of mainland Ecuador, the
country to which they belong, 926 km/500 NMI to the east.
The islands are found at the coordinates 140'N136'S, 8916'9201'W. Straddling
the equator, islands in the chain are located in both the northern and southern
hemispheres, with Volcn Wolf and Volcn Ecuador on Isla Isabella being directly on
the equator. Espaola Island, the southernmost islet of the archipelago, and Darwin
Island, the northernmost one, are spread out over a distance of 220 km (137 mi).
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) considers them wholly within the
South Pacific Ocean, however.
The Galpagos Archipelago consists of 7,880 km
2
(3,040 sq. mi) of land spread over
45,000 km
2
(17,000 sq. mi) of ocean. The largest of the islands, Isabella, measures
2,250 sq. mi/5,827 km
2
and makes up close to three-quarters of the total land area of the
Galpagos. Volcn Wolf on Isabella is the highest point, with an elevation of 1,707 m
(5,600 ft.) above sea level.
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The group consists of 18 main islands, 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. The
islands are located at the Galapagos Triple Junction. The archipelago is located on
the Nazca Plate (a tectonic plate), which is moving east/southeast, diving under the
South American Plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) per year. It is also atop
the Galapagos hotspot, a place where the Earth's crust is being melted from below by
a mantle plume, creating volcanoes. The first islands formed here at least 8 million and
possibly up to 90 million years ago.
While the older islands have disappeared below the sea as they moved away from the
mantle plume, the youngest islands, Isabella and Fernandina, are still being formed,
with the most recent volcanic eruption in April 2009 where lava from the volcanic
island Fernandina started flowing both towards the island's shoreline and into the center
caldera.


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WEATHER.
Although located on the Equator, the Humboldt Current brings cold water to the islands,
causing frequent drizzles during most of the year. The weather is periodically
influenced by the El Nio events, which occur about every 37 years and are
characterized by warm sea surface temperatures, a rise in sea level, greater wave action,
and a depletion of nutrients in the water.
During the season known as the garua (June to November), the temperature by the sea
is 22 C (72 F), a steady and cold wind blows from south and southeast, frequent
drizzles (garuas) last most of the day, and dense fog conceals the islands. During the
warm season (December to May), the average sea and air temperature rises to 25 C
(77 F), there is no wind at all, there are sporadic, though strong, rains and the sun
shines.
Weather changes as altitude increases in the large islands. Temperature decreases
gradually with altitude, while precipitation increases due to the condensation of
moisture in clouds on the slopes. There is a large range in precipitation from one place
to another, not only with altitude, but also depending on the location of the islands, and
also with the seasons
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BIODIVERSITY.

The Galpagos Islands are located off the west coast of South America straddling the
equator. The Galpagos are located at the confluence of several currents including the
cold Humboldt Current traveling north from South America and the Panama Current
traveling south from Central America make the islands cooler than you would think and
provide the perfect environment for the unique mix of wildlife that inhabits the islands.
These islands are volcanic in origin and were never attached to any continent. Wildlife
arrived here in one of three ways: flying, floating or swimming.
Where in most environments larger mammals are normally the predators at the top of
the food chain these animals were unable to survive the journey. Thus the
giant Galpagos tortoise became the largest land animal and due to the lack of natural
predators, the wildlife in the Galpagos is known for being extremely tame.
The Galpagos Islands are noted as a home to a large number of endemic species.
The stark rocky islands many with few plants made it necessary for many species need
to adapt to survive here and by doing so evolving into new endemic species. It was after
visiting the Galpagos and studying the endemic wildlife that inhabit the islands that a
young Charles Darwin developed his Theory of Evolution
.










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FAUNA.
One of the best known is the Galpagos tortoise, which lives on seven of the islands. It
has an average lifespan of more than 150 years.
The Marine Iguana is also extremely unusual, since it is the only iguana adapted to life
in the water. Land iguanas, lava lizards, geckos and other harmless snakes can also be
found in the Islands. The large number and range of birds is also of interest to scientists
and tourists. Around 56 varieties live in the archipelago, of which 27 are found only in
the Galpagos. Some of these are found only on one island.
The most outstanding are penguins, which live on the colder coasts, Darwin's
finches, frigatebirds, albatrosses, gulls, boobies, pelicans and Galpagos Hawks, among
others. The Flightless Cormorant, a peculiar bird which has lost the ability to fly, is also
part of this rich fauna.
On the other hand, there are many mammal species, mostly sea mammals such
as whales, dolphins and sea lions. A few species of endemic Galapagos mice (or Rice
rats) - the Santiago Galapagos Mouse and the Fernandina Galapagos Mouse - have been
recently rediscovered.
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FLORA.
On the larger Galpagos Islands, four ecological zones have been defined: coastal, low
or dry, transitional and humid. In the first, species such
as myrtle, mangrove and saltbush can be found. In the second grow cactus, the incens
tree, carob tree, poison apple tree, chala and yellow cordia, among others. In the
transitional zone taller trees, epiphytes and perennial herbs can be seen. The best known
varieties are the cat's claw, espuela de gallo. In the humid sector are the cogojo,
Galpagos guava, cat's claw, Galapagos coffee, passionflower and some types of moss,
ferns and fungus.

















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MAIN ISLANDS.
The 18

main islands (with a land area larger than 1 km
2
) of the archipelago (with their
English names) shown alphabetically:
BALTRA ISLAND
Also known as South Seymour, Baltra is a small flat island located near the center of the
Galpagos. It was created by geological uplift. The island is very arid, and vegetation
consists of salt bushes, prickly pear cacti and palo santo trees.
DARWIN ISLAND.
This island is named after Charles Darwin. It has an area of 1.1 km
2
(0.4 sq. mi) and
a maximum altitude of 168 m (551 ft.).
Here fur seals, frigates, marine iguanas, swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions, whales,
marine turtles, and red-footed and Nazca boobies can be seen.


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ESPAOLA ISLAND.
Its name was given in honor of Spain. It also is known as Hood, after Viscount Samuel
Hood. It has an area of 60 km
2
(23 sq. mi) and a maximum altitude of 206 m (676 ft).
Espaola is the oldest island at around 3.5 million years, and the southernmost in the
group. Due to its remote location, Espaola has a large number of endemic species. It
has its own species of lava lizard, mockingbird, and tortoise. Espaola's marine
iguanas exhibit a distinctive red coloration change between the breeding seasons.

Espaola is the only place where the Waved Albatross nests. Some of the birds have
attempted to breed on Genovese (Tower) Island, but unsuccessfully. Espaola's steep
cliffs serve as the perfect runways for these birds, which take off for their ocean feeding
grounds near the mainland of Ecuador and Peru.

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FERNANDINA ISLAND
The name was given in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the
voyage of Columbus. Fernandina has an area of 642 km
2
(248 sq. mi) and a maximum
altitude of 1,494 m (4,902 ft.). This is the youngest and westernmost island. On 13 May
2005, a new, very eruptive process began on this island, when an ash and water vapor
cloud rose to a height of 7 km (23,000 ft.) and lava flows descended the slopes of the
volcano on the way to the sea.
ISABELLA ISLAND.
This island was named in honor of Queen Isabella. With an area of 4,640 km
2
, it is the
largest island of the Galpagos. Its highest point is Volcn Wolf, with an altitude of
1,707 m. The island's seahorse shape is the product of the merging of six large
volcanoes into a single land mass. On this island, Galpagos penguins, flightless
cormorants, marine iguanas, pelicans and Sally abound.
At the skirts and calderas of the volcanoes of Isabella, land iguanas and Galpagos
tortoises can be observed, as well as Darwin finches, Galpagos hawks, Galpagos
doves and very interesting lowland vegetation. It is the only island to have
the equator run across it. It is also the only place in the world where a penguin can be in
its natural habitat in the Northern Hemisphere.









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TRAVEL.
Options for flying into the Galapagos are limited to two islands; San Cristobal and
Baltra. Private aircraft must use Baltra as it is the airport equipped with overnight plane
accommodations. Seymour Airport on Baltra was recently renovated (20122013) to
accommodate larger planes.
Until 1969 the only way to visit was on a private or chartered vessel. There was no
regular air service until Forrest Nelson's Hotel Galapagos began the first organized tours
in April 1969. Soon other travel companies brought in tour ships and yachts, and local
fishermen began converting their wooden boats for rudimentary cruising with guests.
These vessels were the main source of overnight accommodations in the Galapagos.
Land based hotels are opening on the inhabited islands of San Cristobal, Santa Cruz,
Floreana and Isabella. By 2012, more than half the visitors to Galapagos made their
tours using day boats and these small hotels. Restaurants, easy access and economy
make this an attractive travel option. The cruise tours are still the best way to see all the
complex environment and wildlife of the islands.
There are only 116 visitor sites in the Galapagos: 54 land sites and 62 scuba-diving or
snorkeling sites. Small groups are allowed to visit in 24 hour shifts only, to limit
impact on the area.