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The Galapagos islands are a group of about seventeen larger islands and about
sixty smaller islets and nameless rocks (Fig. 1.1)
belonging to Ecuador . They straddle the equator in the Pacific about 1000 km
off the coast of South America. Total land area is about 7900 km2
distributed over an area of about 90 000 km2 of ocean. The archipelago
is volcanic in origin. The oldest islands lie to the east, the younger and highest
ones are in the west. Many of the smaller islands are very low and are totally
arid, while the younger still active volcanoes in the west reach heights of
1100-1700 m and have extensive humid zones. About 90% of the land area is National
Park. Only four islands have settlements (San Cristobal, Floreana, Santa Cruz,
and Isabela) with a total of about 10 000 inhabitants, most of whom live in the
villages on San Cristobal and Santa Cruz. |