The Itabaca Channel separates the islands of
Baltra and
Santa Cruz in the
Galápagos archipelago in
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
. The Itabaca Channel is crossed by water taxis which ferry passengers from Baltra (South Seymour), in the North, where there is an airport (
Seymour Airport
Seymour Galapagos Ecological Airport (Spanish: ''Aeropuerto Ecológico Galápagos Seymour'') is an airport serving the island of Baltra, one of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.
Name
The airport preserves part of Baltra's other name, Sout ...
), to Santa Cruz in the South, and vice versa. The channel also provides an anchorage for small tour vessels, and an unloading point for cargo ships bringing goods from the mainland of Ecuador to Santa Cruz; these goods are then transported by trucks overland to the town of
Puerto Ayora. The channel is around 350 meters at its narrowest point.
Name
Canal Itabaca, originally Ilabaca, was most likely named after the Chilean naval officer Julio Ernesto Ilabaca León (b. 1891), who was on board the Chilean naval corvette
General Baquedano when it came to Galapagos in 1910 to conduct a hydrographical survey of the islands.
Baltra Island
Baltra Island () is a small island in the Galápagos Archipelago in Ecuador. It is a small flat island located near the center of the chain and includes Seymour Airport (GPS), originally established by the United States Air Force to help monito ...
on the northern side of the channel was named during the same voyage.
Wildlife
Wildlife commonly seen in the Itabaca channel include
blue-footed boobies,
lava herons,
lava gulls,
brown pelicans and the occasional
tiger shark
The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of ground shark, and the only extant member of the genus '' Galeocerdo'' and family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large apex predator, with females capable of attaining a length of over . Popula ...
.
Additional images
Alvaro Sevilla Design Isla Santa Cruz Galapagos foto tomada desde el avión.jpg, Flying out of Baltra, on the right with the Island of Santa Cruz on the left and in the middle is the Itabaca Channel
Boats off the Santa Cruz Island Galapagos in the Itabaca Channel photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG, Boats off the Santa Cruz Island Galapagos in the Itabaca Channel
Galápagos sea lions 01.jpg, Galápagos sea lions on a buoy in the Itabaca Channel
In the distance is Baltra close to the viewer is the Island of Santa Cruz in the middle is the Itabaca Channelphoto by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG
References
{{Reflist
Galápagos Islands
Landforms of Galápagos Province
Bodies of water of Ecuador