Interpretation Centre
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San Cristobal Interpretation Centre
Today we went to The
Interpretation Centre a little way out of town
Pepe meets Pepe,
own blog – naturally
The paths were well
laid out in the natural surroundings.
Finches
everywhere
Wildlife at every
turn.
The information building was well laid out
and very informative. We spent the next hour reading about formation, first
plants, animals and some would say, sadly humans coming to the islands.
In the course of millions of years,
continuous eruptions of volcanoes that spurted from the sea created a
fascinating archipelago: Galapagos. The islands are the tops of enormous
submarine mountains. Some younger islands are still being formed and grow in
height, while older islands are changing their form through the process of
erosion and eventual return to the sea. Beneath Galapagos is a hot spot, that
is, a source of molten rock or magma, which rises from the depths, pierces the
crust like a bellows and erupts in a torrent of lava. The hot spot remains
immobile, while the Nazca Plate, on which Galapagos sits, move three centimeters
per year towards the continent. This process, over millions of years has created
this cluster of volcanic islands.
This explains the fact that the islands of
Espaniola and San Cristobal, in the eastern part of the archipelago, are older
(about three million years) than Isabela and Fernandina in the west (about seven
hundred thousand years).
The air and the water were the means for conquering the distance
separating Galapagos from the continent.
Finches and the theory
of evolution. Thousands of years ago, species of established in
Galapagos. This pioneer population, upon finding different environments and
different types of food, evolved into thirteen species. The forms of their beaks
are the most visible result of this adaptation.
The cold Humboldt Current contributes its
waters to the South Equatorial Current, which bathes Galapagos with
nutrient-rich waters, enabling the growth of the particular marine life of the
islands.
Warmer waters brought by the Panama
Current, which is fed by the North Equatorial Countercurrent, provide an ideal
environment for the development of tropical ecosystems.
From the west, The Cromwell or Equatorial
Undercurrent, upon meeting the Galapagos platform, upwells, especially on the
coasts of Fernandina and western Isabela, bringing deep waters that are rich in
nutrients to the surface. Cold water species, such as the flightless cormorant
and Galapagos penguin, live in areas influenced by the Cromwell
Undercurrent.
There are two seasons in the Islands –
Garua and Hot. Between the months of June and November, when the Southeast
Tradewinds are stronger, the South Equatorial Current and the Cromwell
Undercurrent predominate. The air and sea are cooler. Often, a fine drizzle
falls: this is garua, which gives its name to the season. The average
temperature is around twenty two degrees Centigrade.
From December to May, the Norteast
Tradewinds blow and the hot Panama Current prevails. The heat increases and
rainfall is abundant. The average air temperature in the hot season is around
twenty five degrees Centigrade. Since we have been here on San Cristobal we have
seen a range of twenty three degrees up to just below forty.
El Nino is an atmospheric phenomenon that
alters the circulation of the water masses surrounding Galapagos, it occurs in
certain years when the warm waters of the panama Current extends further south
and for a longer time than usual, causing a rise in sea temperature. Its effects
are felt principally around Christmas and thus its name: “El Nino” which means
“child” refers to the Christ child.
With the arrival of El Nino in Galapagos,
rainfall increases, the sea temperature rises, and the abundance of certain
marine species diminishes drastically. Populations of seabirds, fur seals and
marine iguanas diminish due to lack of food, while some fish and marine
invertebrates proliferate. The continued rain causes problems ashore for land
organisms and plants. Cactus become top-heavy with increased growth and topple
over, the saturated soil causes many Scalesia trees to die. It was important to
us as sailors for it not to be an El Nino year, early predictions suggested a
weak one, but as the Tradewinds settled all was well.
Tomás Enriquez was
born in Berlanga del Duero in 1486, upon entering the Dominican Order, he
changed his surname to “de
Berlanga”. He was one of the first missionaries
sent to the New World. As the fourth Bishop of Panama, he proposed to King
Charles I the construction of a road that today is occupied by the Panama Canal.
On his travels, he introduced to America new products and fruits, among which
was the banana, which over time, acquired great importance to the Ecuadorian
economy. European discovery of the Galápagos Islands occurred when
Tomás,
sailed to Peru to
settle a dispute between Francisco
Pizarro
and his lieutenants. De Berlanga's vessel drifted off course when the winds
diminished, his party reached the islands on the 10th of March 1535.
According to a 1952 study by Thor
Heyerdahl
and Arne Skjølsvold, remains of potshards and other artifacts from several sites
on the islands suggest visitation by South American peoples prior to the arrival
of the Spanish.
The islands first appeared on maps in about 1570 in those drawn by Abraham Ortelius and Mercator. The islands were called "Insulae de los Galopegos" (Islands of the Tortoises).
The first English captain to visit the Galápagos Islands was Richard Hawkins, in 1593. Until the early 19th century, the archipelago was often used as a hideout by mostly English pirates who pilfered Spanish galleons carrying gold and silver from South America to Spain.
Colnett’s Map
In 1793, James Colnett made a description of the flora and fauna of Galápagos and suggested that the islands could be used as base for the whalers operating in the Pacific Ocean. He also drew the first accurate navigation charts of the islands. Whalers and maritime fur trader killed and captured thousands of the Galápagos tortoises to extract their fat. The tortoises could also be kept on board ship as a means of providing of fresh protein as these animals could survive for several months on board without any food or water. The hunting of the tortoises was responsible for greatly diminishing, and in some cases eliminating, certain species. Along with whalers came the fur-seal hunters who brought the population of this animal close to extinction.
Ecuador annexed the Galápagos Islands on the 12th of February 1832, naming it Archipelago of Ecuador. This was a new name that added to several names that had been, and are still, used to refer to the archipelago.
The first governor of Galápagos, General José de Villamil. He obtained permission to establish a colony on Floreana Island and the pardon for eighty prisoners, in exchange for their working in the community called Asilo de la Paz (Refuge of Peace) in October 1832, some artisans and farmers joined.
The profound idealism that motivated this man did not result in more than a utopia. The mixture of colonists with criminals disturbed the atmosphere of the colony and destroyed the project. Villamil, at the end of five years, returned to the continent poor and disillusioned.
The voyage of HMS Beagle under captain Robert FitzRoy to the Galápagos on the 15th of September 1835 to survey approaches to harbours.
The captain and others on board including his companion the young naturalist Charles Darwin made a scientific study of geology and biology on Chatham, Charles, Albemarle and James islands before they left on the 20th of October to continue on their round-the-world expedition. Darwin noticed that mockingbirds differed between islands, though he thought the birds now known as Darwin's finches were unrelated to each other and did not bother labelling them by island. The Englishman Nicolas Lawson, acting Governor of Galápagos for the Republic of the Equator, met them on Charles Island and as they walked to the prison colony told him that tortoises differed from island to island. Towards the end of the voyage Darwin speculated that the distribution of the mockingbirds and the tortoises might "undermine the stability of Species". When specimens of birds were analysed on his return to England it was found that many apparently different kinds of birds were species of finches which were also unique to islands. These facts were crucial in Darwin's development of his theory of natural selection explaining evolution, which was presented in The Origin of Species.
José Valdizán and Manuel Julián Cobos tried a new colonisation, beginning the exploitation of a type of lichen found in the islands (Roccella portentosa) used as a colouring agent. After the assassination of Valdizán by some of his workers, Cobos brought from the continent a group of more than a hundred workers to San Cristóbal and tried his luck at planting sugar cane. He ruled in his plantation with an iron hand which led to his assassination in 1904. Since 1897 Antonio Gil began another plantation on Isabela.
Over the course of a whole year, from September 1904, an expedition of the Academy of Sciences of California, led by Rollo Beck, stayed in the Galápagos collecting scientific material on geology, entomology, ornithology, botany, zoology and herpetology. Another expedition from that Academy was done in 1932 (Templeton Crocker Expedition) to collect insects, fish, shells, fossils, birds and plants.
During World War II Ecuador authorised the United States to establish a naval base on Baltra Island and radar stations in other strategic locations. Baltra was also established as a US Air Force Base. Crews stationed there patrolled the Pacific for enemy submarines as well as providing protection for the Panama Canal. After the war the facilities were given to the government of Ecuador. Today the island continues as an official Ecuadorian military base. The foundations and other remains of the US base can still be seen as one crosses the island. In 1946 a penal colony was established in Isabela Island, but it was suspended in 1959. The Galápagos became a national park in 1959 and tourism started in the 1960’s. .
ALL IN ALL REALLY
INTERESTING |