The Unique History of the Galapagos Islands

The Recent Origin of the Islands

Cone-shaped mountain peaks are evidence of the recent volcanic origin of the islands. A geological hot-spot in the Pacific Ocean produced the chain of islands. The oldest islands are around 5 million years old; eruptions continue to the present.

Signs of recent volcanic activity appear on many islands. Here, you can see a lava tube with both of the major types of lava: a’a and pahoehoe.

A crevasse in the ground: another sign of recent volcanic activity.

We enjoyed all these beautiful volcanic landscapes during our voyage from August 17-24.

Life Begins on the Isolated Island

Five million years is very brief in geological time! The new islands, being very far from the South American continent, had no life forms at first. Slowly, birds landed on the island, some blown by storms, many by flying there on their own. Plants and small creatures arrived from the mainland on large floating tangles of branches and roots; birds also can carry seeds or insects on their feet or feathers. In time, these new residents adapted in ways that haven’t really been observed in other places. 

During the last 300 years, humans have been frequent visitors, and a small number of people eventually settled in the Galapagos. The current population is around 32,000. With human activity, some native species have become extinct, and other species have been introduced such as goats and rats. Recently, the fascinating variety of birds, iguanas, giant tortoises, plants, and so on have become a major attraction for tourists. 

From our own photos, here are a few images of the very numerous endemic species in the Galapagos taken during  our two trips to the islands in 2010 and 2024.

Flightless cormorants, unique to the Galapagos (2010)

Endemic Lava Gulls, rarest gulls in the world.

Around 18 species of finches are found only on the Galapagos Islands. Here’s one example.

The Galapagos Penguin is also unique to the islands. (2010)

A giant tortoise at the Darwin Research Station

At the Darwin Research Station many of the endangered tortoises are being bred to avoid the extinction of yet more species. Before human disruption of the island’s fauna, at least one unique tortoise species lived on every major island. Unfortunately tortoises made perfect food for the whalers and other sailors who stopped at the islands in the 18th and 19th centuries, and populations were wiped out.

Galapagos Sea Lions, another endemic species that we have seen on many islands.

Marine Iguanas — perhaps the strangest of the endemics in the Galapagos. Darwin called them “Imps of Darkness.”

Sallylightfoot Crabs are everywhere on the rocky shore; they are also found in many other locations.

I don’t know anything about plants, but this is one of the evolved plants that is unique to the Galapagos.

Charles Darwin and the Study of Natural Selection

Len and Darwin at the Darwin Research Station.

In 1835, Charles Darwin spent several weeks visiting some of the islands in the Galapagos, which were at that time uninhabited by humans. He was traveling as a naturalist and companion to the captain of the ship H.M.S. Beagle, whose purpose was to make nautical charts and collect native species of plants and animals. His work was eventually published under the long title:

On the Origin of Species

BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION, OR THE

PRESERVATION OF FAVOURED RACES IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.

You are probably aware of the history of Darwin’s careful observations and life-long effort to understand how the emergence of the unique plants and animals of the Galapagos as well as the species found in many other places he visited. You probably also know of the controversies about his theories and their eventual acceptance by scientists and natural historians. Many ensuing research projects in the scientific fields that Darwin invented have and vindicated Darwin’s accomplishments.

One evening we cruised past the island of Daphne Major while hearing a talk about an important project done there.

Daphne Major was the site of some very important research to understand natural selection in action. From 1973 until 1989 two evolutionary biologists, Peter and Rosemary Grant, lived there and intensively studied the various species of finches on the island. They and their students discovered many new details about natural selection and speciation in the birds they observed. Their work was the subject of an award-winning book titled The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner. 

I read Weiner’s book some time ago, and I was very interested in seeing the actual island that was involved, though from the deck of the ship one can’t actually see the flat volcanic mountain top where the birds and researchers lived. While we were traveling on the ship I borrowed the somewhat dog-eared copy of the book from the ship’s library and began reading it again. (Having a carefully selected library of natural history, geography, and biology books is a key amenity of Natural Geographic voyages!)

Virtually the entire territory of the Galapagos Islands belongs to the Ecuadorian Galapagos National Park. On Santa Cruz Island we visited the park headquarters and the center for preserving threatened species, especially the giant tortoises. The park has a very well-organized and seriously enforced program to protect these unique resources. The naturalists and staff of the ship take these rules very seriously.

More about the Island’s History

For a brief history of the islands and of Darwin’s visit see this summary from the Galapagos Conservancy. 

The human history of the islands is very brief: in the 1960s there were only 2000 residents, and today there are only 32,000. A few settlements date from the early 20th century, and the airport on Baltra Island was built as an American base during World War II.

The inhabitants today mainly work in the tourist industry, with a very small amount of agriculture and fishing. Needless to say, many volumes of history, scientific research, and accounts of natural history chronicle the fascinating story of the islands.

Where we were.

Blog post and photos © 2010, 2024 mae sander