Galapagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands — 19 volcanic islands and dozens of islets approximately 1,000 km off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean — were formed by the Galápagos hotspot (a plume of magma that periodically breaks through the oceanic crust), producing islands at different ages (the western islands are still volcanically active; the eastern ones are older and more eroded). The isolation of the islands and the variation between island environments produced the adaptive radiation of species that inspired Darwin's theory of natural selection during his 1835 visit on HMS Beagle. Galápagos species are famously unafraid of humans (having evolved without mammalian predators) — marine iguanas swim and dive to eat algae; giant Galápagos tortoises (200kg, 150+ year lifespan) lumber between feeding grounds; blue-footed boobies perform elaborate courtship dances; waved albatrosses soar. Darwin's finches (14 species, each adapted to a specific food source — seeds of different sizes, insects in bark, nectar) demonstrate adaptive radiation most clearly. The islands are now heavily threatened by invasive species (rats, cats, goats) and tourism (25,000 visitors/month). Ecuador established the Galápagos Marine Reserve (1998, 133,000 km²) — the world's second-largest marine protected area.