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Ecuador - Galapagos Islands

galapagos-islands

Islands The Galapagos are a group of 58 islands, of which only four are inhabited, located in the Pacific Ocean about one thousand kilometers to the west coast of Ecuador , a country they belong to and the nearest mainland point.
The archipelago has a high biodiversity and is home to a unique fauna including many endemic species such as turtles of the Galapagos .

The entire island is a wildlife reserve run by the government of Ecuador and that is, since the visit of Charles Darwin, the main living laboratory of biology in the world.
The animals that inhabit the Galapagos are the trademark of the islands, because these, in the formation of volcanic origin, have never had contact with the mainland, about 1000 miles away. Thus, all animal life evolved in the toughest situations. Colonization occurred when birds were able to reach the islands after long flights and fish could resist the sea and arrive at their backs. Seeds, insect eggs and larvae may have reached the islands in the stomach of these animals or by floating vegetation. The strongest survived and gave rise to the theory of the English naturalist Charles Darwin, who considered that the differences between animals settlers and their descendants were so great that the latter may be considered a separate species.

Birds, reptiles and sea mammals are the dominant species. Iguanas are confused with the black rocks, filling up the sun and the sea lions only roar to people if they have a calf nearby. Giant cactus, which grew over the centuries to leave to become the food for the turtles, form an arid landscape, which can be brutally interrupted by an oasis composed of a white sand beach touched lightly by turquoise waters.

Even in the more populated islands can gawk when they come across sea lions, iguanas, turtles and blue-footed birds. Waters, with some luck and depending on time of year can also be sighting whales, sharks, penguins and dolphins. Stick his head under water amounts to see fish of all colors. The Galapagos are now a sanctuary of animal life that will survive and trying to find the possible symbiosis between tourism and the need for preservation of the ecosystem.

Here are some pictures of this marvel of nature:

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