An Introduction to the Galapagos Islands By Louise Mumford At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Galapagos Islands holidays usually maintain a wildlife theme, as these islands are most famous for their unusual inhabitants (both animals and plants). Nature lovers will be in awe of this environmental wonder, and can spend hours exploring the islands both on land and on cruises between the islands.

This extraordinary volcanic archipelago is made up of 13 primary islands, 6 smaller islands and 107 islets and rock formations. The oldest of these islands dates back some 10 million years, and because these islands are situated on an active volcanic bed known as the Galapagos hotspot, they continue to form today. Geography lovers on Galapagos island tours will be fascinated by this archipelago, straddling the equator and still growing.

The Primary Islands

The island of Baltra is located in the centre of the Galapagos. It is small and flat, and was the first island to have an airport. For a long time this airport served all travellers on Galapagos Islands holidays, but today there is another airport in the archipelago that shares the traffic. This is a fairly barren and dry island, but it has a unique beauty and interest in its own right. Here you will see desert-like vegetation such as the prickly pear cactus, salt bush and the palo santo tree.

If you’re after an island with a little more life, Española may be a better base for your Galapagos Islands holiday. At 3.5 million years old, this island has established a diverse population of fauna and flora. It has a particularly fascinating marine iguana population, where these great reptiles actually change colour during their breeding season. Another animal that is of particular interest here is the waved albatross. There are a number of steep cliffs on the island which these birds use as a runway as they take off to their ocean feeding areas.

If the thought of spotting the waved albatross on Española tickles your fancy, you should be sure to incorporate spending some time on North Seymour into your Galapagos tour. This island is literally teeming with birdlife, with particularly healthy populations of blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls. As is the case with Española, North Seymour has a number of high cliffs. These cliffs provide the ideal nesting ground for birds, and swallow-tailed gulls and tropicbirds have made these cliffs there home.

Some Minor Islands

While you may not have the opportunity to visit all the smaller islands on you Galapagos Islands holiday, they are still interesting and worth mentioning. Daphne Major, for example, is a small, tree-less island which, though it may be lacking in vegetation, has a large bird population. Access to this island is restricted and visits are controlled by the national parks. This interesting little island was the setting for a 20 year study of Darwin Finches, and is also the home of bird species such as the red-billed tropicbird, the masked booby and the Galapagos martin.

A smaller island with richer flora is South Plaza. Beautiful prickly pear cactus trees line the shorelines and the sesuvium ground vegetation is remarkable. During the rainy season, the sesuvium is a rich green colour which changes to pretty oranges and purples during drier weather. While the island only has an area of 0.13km, its beautiful flora makes it a popular stop for Galapagos Islands tours.

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