Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the Equator 900 km west of South America.
The Galapagos are famous for their large number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin in the 1830s and inspired his theory of evolution by means of natural selection.
The Galapagos Islands are named for their giant tortoises,which were more plentiful at the time of their discovery.

The islands are located at the Galapagos Triple Junction.
It is a geological area in the eastern Pacific Ocean several hundred miles west of the Galapagos Islands where three tectonic plates - the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate and the Pacific Plate - meet.
The archipelago is precisely located on the Nazca Plate (a tectonic plate), which is moving east/southeast, diving under the South American Plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) per year.

The archipelago is mainly characterized by a mixture of a tropical savanna climate and a semi-arid climate.
It also transits into a tropical rainforest climate in the northwest.
Mount Azul, at 5,541 feet is the highest point of the Galapagos Islands.
In 1978 the islands were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Galapagos marine iguana, is a species of iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands.