Wild Islands: Galapagos Gallery

Galapagos: The Islands That Changed The World explores the diverse and exotic wildlife native to one of the most extraordinary environments on Earth. Officially known as the Archipielago de Colon (Columbus Archipelago), the Galapagos Islands straddle the equator, around 1,000km (600 miles) west of Ecuador's Pacific coast. The archipelago is a province of Ecuador and consists of 13 major islands, 6 smaller islands and scores of islets and rocks, spread over 8,010 sq km (3,093 sq miles) of ocean. The islands' disparate micro-climates have encouraged the development of many different animal species. Nowhere else can you see seals and penguins co-existing with tropical animals. In 1835, Charles Darwin carried out extensive research in the Galapagos while he was working on his theory of evolution.