Isabela Island () is the largest island of the Galápagos with an area of and length of , almost four times larger than Santa Cruz, the second largest of the archipelago. Isabela Island is larger than every other island in the Galápagos combined. It was named after Queen Isabella I of Castile. The island straddles the equator. This island was originally named Albemarle Island for the Duke of Albemarle by Ambrose Cowley, one of the first Europeans to set foot on the islands, in 1684.

Geology

One of the youngest islands, Isabela is located on the western edge of the archipelago near the Galápagos hotspot. At approximately 1 million years old, the seahorse-shaped island was formed by the merger of six shield volcanoes;

Alcedo ''Alcedo'' is a genus of birds in the kingfisher subfamily Alcedininae. The genus was introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The type species is the common kingfisher (''Alcedo ispida'', now ''Alced ...

, Cerro Azul, Darwin, Ecuador,

Sierra Negra Sierra Negra (also, and perhaps more properly, Cerro La Negra) is an extinct volcano located in the Mexican state of Puebla, close to the border with Veracruz. At officially above sea level, it is the fifth-highest peak in Mexico. Sierra Neg ...

, and Wolf. All of these volcanoes except Ecuador are still active, making it one of the most volcanically active places on earth. Two of the volcanoes, Volcan Ecuador and Volcan Wolf (the island's highest point with an elevation of ), lie directly on the equator. The island is primarily noted for its geology, providing excellent examples of a geologic occurrence that created the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands ( Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

including uplifts at Urbina Bay and the Bolivar Channel,

tuff cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...

s a
Tagus Cove
and Pulmace on Alcedo and

, one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Wildlife

Isabela is also interesting for its

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or ''skin flora''. ...

and fauna. The young island does not follow the vegetation zones of the other islands. The relatively new lava fields and surrounding soils have not developed the sufficient nutrients required to support the varied life zones found on other islands. Another obvious difference occurs on Volcan Wolf and Cerro Azul; these volcanoes loft above the cloud cover and are arid on top. Isabela's rich bird,

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

and marine life is beyond compare. Isabela is home to more wild tortoises than all the other islands. Isabela's large size and notable topography created barriers for the slow-moving tortoises; apparently the creatures were unable to cross lava flows and other obstacles, causing several different sub-species of tortoise to develop. Today, tortoises roam free in the calderas of

, Wolf, Cerro Azul, Darwin, and

. Introduced goats multiplied to over 100,000, but were eradicated by the

Galápagos National Park Galápagos National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Galápagos) was established in 1959. It began operation in 1968, and it is Ecuador's first national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Park history The government of Ecuador has designated ...

Service and the

Charles Darwin Foundation The Charles Darwin Foundation ( Spanish: ''Fundación Charles Darwin'') was founded in 1959, under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Conservation Union. The Charles Darwin Research Station serves as headquarters for The Foundation, and is us ...

in 2006-2007. Since then, the vegetation has recovered greatly. Other noted species include

penguin Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain t ...

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

marine iguana The marine iguana (''Amblyrhynchus cristatus''), also known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galápagos marine iguana, is a species of iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a marine rept ...

boobies A booby is a seabird in the genus ''Sula'', part of the family Sulidae. Boobies are closely related to the gannets (''Morus''), which were formerly included in ''Sula''. Systematics and evolution The genus ''Sula'' was introduced by the Frenc ...

, pelicans, ''Sally Lightfoot'' crabs,

Galápagos land iguana The Galápagos land iguana (''Conolophus subcristatus'') is a very large species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It is one of three species of the genus ''Conolophus''. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, in the dry lowlands of the island ...

s, Darwin's finches, Galápagos hawks,

Galápagos dove The Galápagos dove (''Zenaida galapagoensis'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Galápagos, off Ecuador. It is fairly common and is found in a wide range of open and semi-open habitats, especially in the arid ...

s, and very interesting lowland vegetation. The west coast of Isabela in the Bolivar Channel is the best place in Galápagos for viewing whales and dolphin.

History

Human occupation

The settlements of Puerto Villamil and Santo Tomás were founded in 1893. By 1905, the population of the island was 200. Exports at the time were sulfur mined from fumaroles and lime made from coral. Tortoises were used for meat and oil. The third-largest human settlement of the archipelago, Puerto Villamil, is located at the south-eastern tip of the island.

Other points of interest

Other popular attractions include El Muro de las Lágrimas, a wall built by prisoners when the island was a penal colony, and the Flamingo Lagoon, named for the flamingos found there. Both are in the south of the island.

References

External links

*
Galapagos Conservancy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isabela Island (Galapagos) Islands of the Galápagos Islands Volcanoes of the Galápagos Islands Hotspot volcanoes Active volcanoes