'What are the Galapagos Islands?' Galapagos Islands  

What are the Galapagos Islands?

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

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Galápagos Islands

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For the novel Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut, see: Galápagos (book)

Orthographic projection centred over the Galápagos

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Orthographic projection centred over the Galápagos

Map of the Galápagos archipelago showing the names of the islands.

Map of the Galápagos archipelago showing the names of the islands.

The Galápagos Islands (Spanish name: Archipiélago de Colón or Islas Galápagos, from galápago, "saddle"- after the shells of saddlebacked Galápagos tortoises) are an archipelago made up of 13 main volcanic islands, 6 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. The very first island is thought to have formed between 5 and 10 million years ago, a result of tectonic activity. The youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina, are still being formed, with the most recent volcanic eruption in 2005.

The Galápagos archipelago is part of Ecuador, a country in northwestern South America.

The islands are distributed around the equator, 965 kilometres (about 600 miles) west of Ecuador (recently found to have 3 volcanos in the center island, all of them active) (0° N 91° W).

They are famed for their vast number of endemic species and the studies by Charles Darwin that led to his theory of evolution by natural selection.

The adjective "Galápagan" may be used to describe things from or related to the islands.

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