Galápagos Islands World Heritage Site

Official name

Galápagos Islands | UNESCO

Country

Ecuador | Map

Continent

South America

Location

Cantons: San Cristobal, Santa Cruz and Isabela, Province of Galapagos
0.6898° Lat, -90.5013° Lon | Map

Code

1

Time Zone

America/Guayaquil (-05, -0500)

Current Time

Category

Natural

Description

Inscribed 1978. Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 1,000 km from the South American continent, these 19 islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique ‘living museum and showcase of evolution’. Located at the confluence of three ocean currents, the Galápagos are a ‘melting pot’ of marine species. Ongoing seismic and volcanic activity reflects the processes that formed the islands. These processes, together with the extreme isolation of the islands, led to the development of unusual animal life – such as the land iguana, the giant tortoise and the many types of finch – that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection following his visit in 1835.