Where are the Galápagos Islands?
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago, or group of islands, that have been created by volcanoes. They are found in the Pacific Ocean, almost 1,000 km west from the coast of Ecuador in South America. The islands are at either side of the Equator, which means they are in both the Southern and the Northern Hemisphere.
What animals and plants are on the Galapagos Islands?
The Galápagos Islands are home to lots of different types of plants and animals.
They have some of the most unusual animals on the planet. For example, giant tortoises, marine iguanas and even the Galápagos penguins.
On his visit to the islands in 1835, Charles Darwin noticed the slight differences between the same types of animal on each island. This helped him work out how they had adapted to their environment through a process called natural selection.
Today, tourists visit the islands to see the dramatic landscapes - volcanoes, beautiful coastlines and coral reefs - as well as the wildlife and plants.
Watch: The Galápagos Islands with Sue Venir
My great, great, great uncle Edwin was part of an expedition that changed the way we think about the world.
And I’m returning to the place he explored nearly 200 years ago, the Galápagos Islands! The Galápagos are an archipelago, or group of islands, off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean.
The islands are quite close together and they have similar landscapes, plants and animals. But if you look carefully, you can see that they’re not exactly the same.
For example, the finches on one island have pointy beaks for catching insects. But a similar finch on another island has a big, thick beak for eating seeds.
The tortoises on some islands have shells that are dome shaped because they eat plants that are low down.
But similar tortoises on the other islands have shells that rise up at the front, which allow them to eat plants that are high up. These little differences have been caused by the way the animals have adapted to live on the islands over many years.
This was something that Charles Darwin noticed on his famous expedition to the Galápagos Islands in 1835.
It led him to come up with his scientific theory of natural selection, which explains how living things evolve over time.
The Galápagos Islands are a protected area because of their unique wildlife, including marine iguanas, tortoises, green turtles, sea cucumbers, flightless cormorants, and the Galápagos penguin, the world’s only tropical penguin.
The Galápagos islands are a perfect example of evolution. It’s amazing that such a small group of islands have had such a large impact on our understanding of the world.
What is rewilding?
Rewilding is when people leave sections of land alone so plants and animals can look after themselves. People can help out by creating the right conditions for wildlife to succeed. This can involve things like reintroducing species that have disappeared or repairing damaged ecosystems. On the island of Floreana in the Galápagos Islands, 13 species have already become extinct locally.
Important actions are being taken by environmental charities to look after endangered animals in the Galápagos and to protect the island's wildlife.
This work includes bringing back locally extinct animals such as the pink iguana, the Floreana giant tortoise and the Floreana mockingbird.
Where do people live?
People are only allowed to live in small areas of the islands because the wildlife and plants are protected.
This is part of the conservation plan for the islands and the ocean around them.
Other laws prevent things such as too much fishing, too many people living there or too many visitors.
This will hopefully protect the variety of plants and animals and the beauty of the islands for the future.
Watch: What do the Galápagos Islands look like?
Activity: Quiz – Galápagos Islands
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