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[[Image:Blue-footed booby.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Blue-footed booby]]The '''Galápagos Islands''' is an [[archipelago]] of volcanic islands, situated in the [[Pacific Ocean]] 600 miles to the west of [[Ecuador]]. They are noted for their unique animal and bird life which led the naturalist [[Charles Darwin]] to formulate his [[Theory of Natural Selection]]. The name ''Galápagos'' derives from the [[Spain|Spanish]] word for saddle, as the shape of some of the indigenous species of [[tortoise]] resembled a saddle.
[[Image:Blue-footed booby.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Blue-footed booby]]The '''Galápagos Islands''' is an [[archipelago]] of 17 volcanic islands, situated in the [[Pacific Ocean]] 600 miles to the west of [[Ecuador]]. They are noted for their unique animal and bird life which led the naturalist [[Charles Darwin]] to formulate his [[Theory of Natural Selection]]. The name ''Galápagos'' derives from the [[Spain|Spanish]] word for saddle, as the shape of some of the indigenous species of [[tortoise]] resembled a saddle.
Their remote location meant that the islands had few visitors and almost all of the animals exhibit no natural fear of man. However, a rising population, the presence of feral pigs and goats, and the pressures of mass tourism have begun to threaten the existence of some species. On April 10, 2007 Rafael Correa Delgado the President of Ecuador issued an emergency decree<ref>http://www.galapagos.org/news/04_2007_Decree.html Presidential decree 4/10/2007</ref> calling for sustainable development.
Their remote location meant that the islands had few visitors and almost all of the animals exhibit no natural fear of man. However, a rising population, the presence of feral pigs and goats, and the pressures of mass tourism have begun to threaten the existence of some species. On April 10, 2007 Rafael Correa Delgado the President of Ecuador issued an emergency decree<ref>http://www.galapagos.org/news/04_2007_Decree.html Presidential decree 4/10/2007</ref> calling for sustainable development.
The Galápagos Islands are a [[UNESCO]] World Heritage Site.<ref>http://whc.unesco.org/en/list UNESCO World Heritage List</ref>
The Galápagos Islands are a [[UNESCO]] World Heritage Site.<ref>http://whc.unesco.org/en/list UNESCO World Heritage List</ref>
==Geology==
The Galápagos Islands lie above a volcanic "hot spot" (similar to the Hawaiian Islands) where the Nazca and South American plates meet. The islands are essential the tip of giagantic shield volcano that rises up to 10000 ft above the ocean floor. As the plate moves eastwards, new volcanic cones are formed so that the eastern islands are much older and eroded than those to the west, which are still volcanically active.
==Darwin's Finches==
==Darwin's Finches==