U.P. Beta Sigma Fraternity of Southern California

THE AMAZING FAUNA OF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
A Pictorial by Enriqueto "Judge" Rey 68A

[Noted by Willie Vergara]

Judge traveled to The Galapagos Archipelago with wife Mely and a group that included co-Prepian Macky Llamarca '68B last June 2013. Judge adds that the Galapagos Archipelago is somewhat similar to Hawaii Islands except that Galapagos is "younger". Enjoy the pictures mostly taken by his Nikon 600 with his AF-S Nikkor 70-200 f2.8mm G ED VRII.

The information below was lifted from Wikipedia:
"The Galápagos Archipelago consists of 7,880 km2 (3,040 sq mi) of land spread over 45,000 km2 (17,000 sq mi) of ocean. The largest of the islands, Isabela, measures 2,250 sq mi/5,827 km2[3] and makes up close to three-quarters of the total land area of the Galápagos. Volcán Wolf on Isabela is the highest point, with an elevation of 1,707 m (5,600 ft) above sea level.

The group consists of 18 main islands, 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. The islands are located at the Galapagos Triple Junction. The archipelago is located on the Nazca Plate (a tectonic plate), which is moving east/southeast, diving under the South American Plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) per year. It is also atop the Galapagos hotspot, a place where the Earth's crust is being melted from below by a mantle plume, creating volcanoes. The first islands formed here at least 8 million and possibly up to 90 million years ago.

While the older islands have disappeared below the sea as they moved away from the mantle plume, the youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina, are still being formed, with the most recent volcanic eruption in April 2009 where lava from the volcanic island Fernandina started flowing both towards the island's shoreline and into the centre caldera."