NoTwoAlike
Whiletheyareallvolcanic,eachislandisunique.OnEspañola,thesandissoftandwhite.OnFloreana,thesandisthecolorofbrownsugar.Butifyoulookclosely,youwillseespecksof green.
OnFloreana,millionsoftinyshardsofapreciousgemcalledolivine,orperidot,coatthebeach.Genovesa’sbeachescouldnotbemoredifferentfromthese.Itsbeachesaremadeupoflarge,razor‑sharprocksthatcanslicethroughthesolesofyour shoes.
Olderislandsseemmorelushandgreen.That’sbecausethey’vehadmoretimetodevelopplantsandanimals.Weatheringanderosionfromwindandwavesbreakrocksdownintofertilesoilandsand.Treesandotherplantstakerootintherichsoil.Astheygrow,theycreategoodplacesforanimalstoliveand forage.
Waved albatrossesruletheskies overtheGalápagos islands.
Sealionsbaskonthevolcanic rock.
ComingtoGalápagos
TheGalápagosaresparselypopulatedwithpeople.Fiveoftheislandsareinhabited—SantaCruz,Isabela,Floreana,SanCristóbal,and Baltra.✻ Thetotalpopulationisonly about30,000,buttheislandshostsomeofthestrangestbiodiversityofplantsandanimalsintheworld.Howdidtheyreachtheseremoteplaces?Theanswertothisquestionmightsurprise you.
MostoftheplantsandanimalstheretodaycamefromthosethattraveledfromSouthAmericalongago.Someofthefirstanimalswereprobablybirds.Seabirds,likethewavedalbatrossesorthemassive,jet‑blackfrigatebirds,mayhavecometotheislandsforarestingornestingplace.Thesebirdsmayhavebroughtseedsfromthemainlandthattheycaughtintheirfeathers.Seedsmayalsohavereachedtheislandsinbirdpoop.Whicheverwaytheycame,thoseseedstookrootand grew.
✻ No onelivesonBaltra,butpeoplework there.
Overtime,manyplantshavetakenrootandgrownalloverthis island.
BySeaandByAir
Otherseedsfloatedtotheislands.Mangroveseedsarelong,thin,waterproof,andweightedononeend.Oceancurrentscarrythemuntiltheyhitashoreline.Thentheytip,heavy‑sidedown,andtakeroot.ManyGalápagosIslandsareringedwithmangroveforests.Theirrootsformagridthatslowsthetide.Theseplacesbecomenurseriesformanyspeciesoffish—asafeplacefortheir young.
Insectsarrivedontheislandaswell.Somespeciesofbeetlehadwingsstrongenoughtoflythere.Otherscameanotherway.Galápagosspiders“ballooned”theirwayacrosstheocean.Shootingoutaspeciallyadaptedsilkthatisflattenedlikeablade,spiderswerecarriedhundredsofkilometerson winds.
Longago,gianttortoisesfloatedtotheGalápagosfromSouth America.
ManyGalápagosflowersbloomwhiteoryellow—thecolorsthatdrawtheislands’carpenter bees.
Carpenterbeesarrivedbymistake.Thesecreaturestypicallylaytheireggsinpiecesofdriftwood.Thedriftwoodwascarriedbyoceanwavesstraighttothe islands.
Whataboutlargeranimals?Gianttortoisescan’tswim,buttheycanfloat.Otherreptilesmayhavefloatedtheirwaythereonpatchesofvegetation.Becausereptilescangoforlongperiodswithoutfoodorwater,theyeasilysurvivedthelong trip.
Withnopredatorstogobblethemuponcethey’darrived,thesecreaturessettledintotheirnewhomeandslowlyevolvedtocopewithlifeontheislands.Theseweresomeoftheislands’firstcolonists.Butmanymoreweretocome,broughttotheislandsbytheocean itself.