Geological history of the Galapagos islands

By maryamm19
  • Mar 10, 1535

    Europeans discover the Islands

    The Bishop of Panama, Fray Tomas de Berlanga officially discovers the Galapagos Archipelago, accidently when his ship is blown off course.
  • Period: Mar 20, 1535 to

    Pirates and whalers

    When the islands were first discovered by the Europeans, they believed that the islands were cursed because of the iguana's which they believed were dragons. This meant that the voyagers avoided the area and created a safe haven for pirates and whalers. The islands were used as a hideout for English pirates who robbed Spanish ships carrying gold and silver from South America to Spain.

  • Patrick Watkins becomes the first resident of the Islands

    Patrick Watkins was an Irish sailor who was marooned on the Island Floreana from 1807 to 1809. Watkins managed to survive by hunting, growing vegetables and trading with visiting whalers, before finally stealing an open boat and navigating to Guayaquil.

  • Ecuador claims the Island

    Galapagos Islands becomes Ecuadorian territory.

  • Charles Darwin visits the island

    A rather unmotivated and failing medical scholar, Charles Darwin accompanied Captain Robert Fitzroy as a travel companion and naturalist on the HMS Beagle. His book the Voyage of the Beagle is an account of his worldwide journey. Darwin used the example of the Galapagos finches to support his theory of evolution and natural selection. The finches are now named Darwin's finches in his honour.

  • Ecuador annexes the islands, naming them the Archipelago of Ecuador

    Ecuador allows the U.S Army Air Forces to construct a base in Baltra Island, from which to guard the approaches to the Panama Canal. It closed in 1947 but the runway is still being used.

  • The islands are declared a national park

    Galapagos National Park established and covered nearly 97% of the total land and area.

  • The islands are declared a UN world heritage site

    The Galapagos Islands became the world’s first UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site — an honor bestowed upon our planet’s most magnificent places.

  • A marine reserve is established

    Creation of Galapagos Marine Reserve, covering about 70,000 sq. km.