Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago located 1050 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador. The archipelago includes 13 main islands, 6 smaller islands and 107 islets that crop up on both the northern and southern sides of the equator.

Bartolome Island in the Galapagos Archipelago

The first islands are estimated to have formed over five million years ago. Others are still being formed and the most recent volcanic eruption occurred in 2005. The islands emerged from the ocean depths as the result of constant eruptions, which pushed large masses of materials to the surface, creating a surprising number of large and small islands and islets, some with volcanoes. The largest volcano today is the Wolf volcano, which reaches a height of 1707 meters above the sea level.
Volcanic activity in the islands is relatively high, similar to that of the Hawaiian Islands, characterized by cones that extend upwards in the shape of shields, crowned by enormous craters. The Archipelago surface covers 693,700 hectares or 1,714,000 acres and rages in height from sea level to 1,707 meters (5,600 feet). Close to 97, 5% of the surface is protected parkland, while the remainder consists of the settlements.

NOTE: The biggest problem affecting the biodiversity of the Archipelago is the introduction of species of animals and plants that are a big threat to the native and endemic species of the islands.