Galapagos Natural history

The islands maintain several habitats with special characteristics that act as refuges for food and reproduction of different terrestrial and marine animals. Galapagos is an area geologically active, with formations such as Alcedo or Sierra Negra volcanoes which are some of the more interesting natural attractions of the archipelago. Sierra Negra (Black Highlands) has the second biggest volcanic crater in the world. The most recent eruption of the volcano Cerro Azul (Blue Hill) was registered in 1998. The total area of the islands is 7,882 Km2, scattered amongst 45,000 Km2 of sea. The sea bed of the Southwest Pacific has an extraordinary topography: mountains, summits, plateaus, and valleys where a great variety of marine species are found; the islands of the archipelago are the superficial tips of enormous volcanoes.

Galapagos – its people

The history of the colonization of Galapagos goes back to the middle of the XVII century, with the arrival of the first buccaneers who used the islands as a refuge; later, Norwegian whalers resided in the islands, impelling the human establishments. Tourism, fishing, agriculture and handicrafts constitute today the main sources of income for the Galapagos population. A total of around 19.260 persons inhabit Galapagos in the five populated islands of San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Floreana and Baltra.
Tourism is the base of the local economy and its main source of revenues.

The archipelago receives approximately 170.000 tourists annually. The second economic activity is fishing, the sector that is most involved in the handling of the Marine Reserve. The fishermen represent an important group within the local economy. Over the last few years, insular residents have significantly developed unique, craft handiwork; the use of recycled materials, T-shirt paintings and carved wood crafts. The Agricultural activities in the islands are not very technical, natural products are cultivated organically and are brought down from the humid areas of the archipelagos highlands to be consumed in the ports.
As to the music of Galapagos, this stands out as having cheerful rhythms using words that talk about the daily lives of the inhabitants of Galapagos.

Important dates and facts

1535 Fray Tomás of Berlanga discovered the Galapagos Islands. 1832, the Republic of Ecuador took official possession of Galapagos. 1835, the craft “H.M.S. BEAGLE” arrived in Galapagos after an exploratory journey around the world. On board was the young naturalist Charles Darwin. Based on his observations of the islands, he deduced his revolutionary “Theory of the Evolution of Species”, published in November of 1859.

1934, the first protection laws were proclaimed. In 1959, the Galapagos Islands were declared a National Park. 1968, Galapagos National Park was created in order to protect the biodiversity of the islands. The Galapagos Islands were included in the National System of Protected Areas of Ecuador through the Law of Forestry and Conservation of Natural Areas and Wildlife.
Out of the 7,882 km2 of the terrestrial surface of the archipelago, 97% forms part of the National park and the remaining 3% is set aside for human use. 1979, UNESCO declared the Galapagos Islands as a Natural Heritage Site. 1985, UNESCO declared the Galapagos Islands a Biosphere Reserve. 1986, the Ecuadorian government created the Marine Resources Reserve of Galapagos. 1990 the archipelago was declared a Whale Sanctuary. In 1998, the “Special Law for the Conservation and Sustainable Development of Galapagos Province” was approved.
The marine zone, declared as the Galapagos Marine Reserve in 1998, contains an area of around 133,000 km2 that includes all of the water inside the archipelago and also extends 40 miles around it. 2001, UNESCO included the Galapagos Marine Reserve in the list of Natural Heritage sites.

Its biodiversity

There exists 7,214 identified species in the Galapagos islands; it is estimated that 86% of the biodiversity has already been registered. 30.8% of the species in Galapagos are endemic (native) to the islands. There are 696 vertebrate animals that make up 10% of the insular biodiversity. Terrestrial and fresh water invertebrates represent 32% of the terrestrial biodiversity. Presently, marine invertebrates represent 31% of the marine biodiversity (note: these figures are estimates from 2001, and they are in constant variation.)
The Galapagos Marin Reserve is the second largest in surface area and the only one of its kind with open waters found in the world. The biomass in the reserve is surprisingly rich because of the cold water currents that appear in this area. Without a doubt, the archipelagos waters contain an interesting marine fauna that is still to be discovered. Therefore, scientific investigations by Technical Department of the Galapagos National Park are now concentrating on the study of marine biodiversity. New technology allows descent to great depths in order to observe and collect samples of submarine ecosystems of which we know little about. These scientific investigations help to discover the amazing natural world of Galapagos.