Los Gemelos, Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands

Santa Cruz Island () is one of 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 Ecuad ...

with an area of and a maximum altitude of . Situated in the center of the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

, Santa Cruz is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is

Puerto Ayora Puerto Ayora is a town in central Galápagos, Ecuador. Located on the southern shore of Santa Cruz Island, it is the seat of Santa Cruz Canton. The town is named in honor of Isidro Ayora, an Ecuadorian president. The town is sometimes mistakenl ...

, the most populated urban centre in the islands. On Santa Cruz, there are some small villages, whose inhabitants work in agriculture and cattle raising. The island is an oval-shaped, long and wide

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more vi ...

. Its summit contains a shallow

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

that has been largely buried by youthful pit craters and

cinder cone A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruption ...

s with well-preserved craters. The most recent eruptions may have occurred only a few thousand years ago with the effusion of sparsely vegetated lava flows from vents on the north flank and along the summit

fissure A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure ...

. A gigantic

lava tube A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ...

measuring over long is a tourist attraction on the island. As a testimony to its volcanic history there are two big holes formed by the collapse of a

magma chamber A magma chamber is a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. The molten rock, or magma, in such a chamber is less dense than the surrounding country rock, which produces buoyant forces on the magma that tend to drive it up ...

: Los Gemelos, or "The Twins". Named after the Holy Cross, its English name (Indefatigable) was given after a British vessel HMS ''Indefatigable''. Santa Cruz hosts the largest human population in the archipelago at the town of

, with a total of 18,000 residents on the island.

Tortuga Bay Tortuga Bay is located on the Santa Cruz Island, about a 20-minute water-taxi ride from the main water taxi dock in Puerto Ayora. There is also a walking path, which is and is open from six in the morning to six in the evening. Visitors must sig ...

is located on the Santa Cruz Island, a short walk from center of Puerto Ayora where you can view

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 ...

s, birds, Galapagos crabs and a natural mangrove where you can spot white tip reef sharks and the gigantic

Galápagos tortoise The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a species of very large tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). It comprises 15 subspecies ...

Points of interest

Charles Darwin Research Station Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

* Headquarters of the Galápagos National Park Service * Lava tunnels * El Chato and Rancho Primicias Giant Tortoise Reserves * Itabaca Channel * Black Turtle Cove * Cerro Dragón *

* Playa El Garrapatero * Los Gemelos * Stand of Scalesia - daisy trees

Twin towns – sister cities

On June 19, 2002, the cities of Seabrook, Texas and Santa Cruz Island finalized a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

status during a ceremony at Seabrook City Hall. Charles Darwin Research Station
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References

no stop now

External links

(commercial tour operator) {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Cruz Island (Galapagos) Islands of the Galápagos Islands Calderas of the Galápagos Islands Polygenetic shield volcanoes