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Galapagos

San Cristobal

San Cristóbal Island (Spanish: Isla San Cristóbal) and named previously by the English as Chatham Island, is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, as well as one of the oldest geologically. It is administratively part of San Cristóbal Canton, Ecuador.

Its Spanish (and official Ecuadorian) name “San Cristóbal” comes from the patron saint of seafarers, St. Christopher. English speakers increasingly use that name in preference to the traditional English name of Chatham Island, derived from William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Galapagos

South Plaza

South Plaza (Spanish: Isla Plaza Sur) is a small island off the east coast of Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Islands. It has an area of 0.13 km2 and a maximum altitude of 23 metres.

South Plaza was formed by lava up streaming from the bottom of the ocean. Despite its small size, it is home to a large number of species and known for its extraordinary flora. The sea bluffs hold large numbers of birds, such as nesting red-billed tropicbirds and swallow-tailed gulls, and offer wide vistas. The prickly pear cactus trees (Opuntia galapageia) are noteworthy, as is the large colony of Galápagos land iguanas. Furthermore, the territory and breeding season of the Galapagos land iguana overlap only on South Plaza Island with those of the marine iguana, giving rise to a unique population of hybrid iguanas. Depending on the season, the Sesuvium ground vegetation changes its colour from green in the rainy season to orange and purple in the dry season.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Galapagos

Fernardina

Fernandina Island (Spanish: Isla Fernandina, named after Ferdinand II of Aragon, the sponsor of Christopher Columbus) (formerly known in English as Narborough Island, after John Narborough) is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galápagos Islands, as well as the furthest west. Like the others, the island was formed by the Galápagos hotspot. The island is an active shield volcano that has most recently been erupting since April 11, 2009.

On February 14, 1825, while anchored in Banks Bay, Captain Benjamin Morrell recorded one of the largest eruptions in Galápagos’ history at Fernandina Volcano. His ship escaped to safety and his account of the event was preserved.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Galapagos

Isabela

Isabela Island (Spanish pronunciation: [isaˈβela]) is the largest island of the Galápagos with an area of 4,586 square kilometres (1,771 sq mi) and length of 100 kilometres (62 mi), almost four times larger than Santa Cruz, the second largest of the archipelago. Isabela Island is larger than every other island in the Galápagos combined. It was named after Queen Isabella I of Castile. The island straddles the equator. This island was originally named Albemarle Island for the Duke of Albemarle by Ambrose Cowley, one of the first Europeans to set foot on the islands, in 1684.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Galapagos

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Island (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsanta ˈkɾus]) is one of the Galápagos Islands with an area of 986 km2 (381 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 864 metres (2,835 ft). Situated in the center of the archipelago, Santa Cruz is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban centre in the islands. On Santa Cruz, there are some small villages, whose inhabitants work in agriculture and cattle raising.

The island is an oval-shaped, 32 km (20 mi) long and 40 km (25 mi) wide shield volcano. Its summit contains a shallow caldera that has been largely buried by youthful pit craters and cinder cones with well-preserved craters. The most recent eruptions may have occurred only a few thousand years ago with the effusion of sparsely vegetated lava flows from vents on the north flank and along the summit fissure. A gigantic lava tube measuring over 2,000 m (6,600 ft) long is a tourist attraction on the island. As a testimony to its volcanic history there are two big holes formed by the collapse of a magma chamber: Los Gemelos, or “The Twins”.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)