Abstract
Located on the Equator about 600 miles from the coast of Ecuador is a set of volcanic mountains that emerged from the Pacific Basin. They were first named or, "the Bewitched Islands," but now are universally given the name Galapagos in reference to their most unique resident, the giant Galapagos tortoise. The Galapagos archipelago (a chain of many islands) is made up of thirteen major islands, six smaller islets, and fifty still smaller islets and rocky formations. These islands were on the 1835 itinerary of the H.M.S. Beagle when it stopped for five weeks with its now famous naturalist, Charles Darwin.