The Galapagos Islands

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The Galapagos Islands

• Another Easter Island?

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Where are the Galapagos?

• 1000 km west of S.A.
• Mantle plume 1000 km diameter causes Galapagos
  platform
• Spreading center complicates the geology
• Was located over the plume until 5 m.y. ago
  forming the Cocos ridge n.e. of the Galop.
• Now is north of the plume
• Transform fault at 91 W

Cocos Ridge
Carnegie Ridge
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How old is the mantle plume?

• Difficult to say because the older volcanoes have
  sunk due to cooling (forming seamounts) and been
  subducted in the subduction zone off South
  America
• 8 m.y. old seamount on the Carnegie Ridge was an
  island (rounded cobbles on a flat top), 1500 m
  below sea level.
• May have formed volcanic rocks that occur in the
  Carribean and on edge of S.A. possibly as old as
  90 m.y.

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The major islands
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Two Types of Volcanoes separated by 91 W
transform fault

• Inverted soup bowl with HUGE calderas
• On west Isabela and Fernandina
• Older, thicker lithosphere, can support bigger
  load

• Smaller shield volcanoes, gentler slopes
• In the eastern islands
• Young, thin, weak lithosphere

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Inverted Soup Bowl

• Eruptions from circumferential fissures near
  summits builds volcano up, eruptions on radial
  fissures on low flanks builds volcanoes out
• Or, magma intrusion lifting the top only

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And HUGE calderas
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So, how did I get that picture?
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Guayaquil, Ecuador

• Ecuadors most populous city (gt2 m)
• hot, humid, crowded port town with many
  dangerous areas (?)
• Home of famous Hotel Risso!

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Hotel Rizzo, Guayaquil

• What else is in this room that makes those funny
  sounds?

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The Rizzo Region
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Parque Bolivar, Guayaquil
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Colonial and Other Architecture
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Volunteering at the Naval School

• About 12 teachers led by a marine ecologist and
  plant botanist from Nature Conservancy
  volunteered for a more than a week.
• Students 1st through about 7th grade
• Teachers were general science teachers
• (and me.)

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At the school.
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Wonderful kids with a hard life
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Off to Loboria
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Learning to preserve, not bash

• Before sea life for eating or bashing
• After respect all creatures, put every rock back
  exactly where it came from, and return all
  animals to the sea

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Necklace Another lesson
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No mommy, happy ending
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Back to class
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How much of the Earth is covered by water??
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What was the Question?

• Oh, yes, how did I get that picture of the
  caldera?

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Lots of travel
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And more travel.
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Look familiar??? Kicker Rock
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What are these?
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Back to the boat and on to Santa Cruz
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To the Darwin Research Station
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MIGUEL
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And more travel.
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Heaven found on Isabella!

• Definitely the place to land!
• Off to Sierra Negro and the caldera!

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I wish the next part had been in my new car!
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But it wasnt.
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(Scary.!)
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Ascending into the garua..
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But I got that picture of the BIG caldera!
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On Sierra Negro..and hiking
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Back in the saddle again..
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Survived the horses
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So swam with the sharks
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Some people will do anything to get a good
shot of a marine iguana!
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Then what?

• Boat from Isabella back to Santa Cruz, then
• Bus to the ferry on Baltra (airport on Santa
  Cruz)
• Ferry to Baltra (stranded on the dock in the
  blazing sun for 2 hours.Miguel.)
• Bus from ferry to the airport
• Airplane from Baltra to Guayaquil
• Taxi to Hotel Risso
• Airplane Miami-St. Louis-Champaign next day
• WHEW!!

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Overview

• Visited by Darwin 5 weeks, Sept.,Oct, 1835
• 1845 The Origin of Species published
• 1832 Annexed by Ecuador
• 1959 Ecuador declares National Park
• 1979 World Heritage site
• 1987 Marine Resources Reserve (15 mile zone)

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Pre-Darwin -1-

• 1535 Bishop of Panama reported to Emperor Carlos
  V, Spain, tortoises and iguanas, tame birds
• 1570 Two maps (Abraham Ortelius, Mercator)
  Insulae de los Galopegos (Islands of the
  Tortoises)
• 1500s-1700s Pirate refuge, crude navigation
  charts, RATS

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Pre-Darwin -2-

• Guayaquil sacked Rogers fled to islands
• First scientific mission (Spanish) Malaspina,
  records lost
• British James Colnett, scouting for whales
• 100 years of whaling followed Fur seals hunted
  nearly to extinction Tortoises decimated for food

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Pre-Darwin -3-

• First post office, Floreana gtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgt
• Floreana 1.5 m.y., still active volcanoes, fresh
  water
• Floreana giant tortoises extinct by 1846
• First resident Irish, Patrick Watkins,
• marooned on Floreana in 1807, 1809 escaped to
  Guayaquil
• Capt. George Vancouver
• most dreary barren and desolate country I ever
  beheld
• Seals, penguins, swimming lizards (marine iguanas)

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Pre-Darwin -4-

• 1813 U.S. Essex, David Porter.
• Destroyed British whaling fleet using
  intelligence gathered fom the mail at the
  Floreana Post Office, Accidentally released GOATS
  on Santiago Island
• 1832 Annexed by Ecuador
• 1800s-1900s Penal colonies and prostitutes
• 1850-1950 U.S., Britain tried to buy or lease
• 1893 Settlement at Villamil on Isabela
• 1926 Puerto Ayora (Academy Bay), Norwegias