Which volcanic archipelago in Ecuador is famous for its unique wildlife?

The Galápagos Islands are the volcanic archipelago in Ecuador famous for unique wildlife.

The islands lie in the Pacific Ocean on both sides of the equator, about 1,000 kilometres west of mainland Ecuador. Formed by volcanic activity and never connected to a continent, they were colonized by species that arrived by flying, swimming or drifting. Isolation then allowed many populations to evolve into distinctive endemic species.

The archipelago is known for giant tortoises, marine iguanas, Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants and Darwin’s finches. Marine iguanas are particularly unusual because they are the only iguanas adapted to forage in the sea. The islands’ wildlife famously influenced Charles Darwin’s thinking about natural selection after his 1835 visit.

A common mistake is treating the Galápagos as a single island. It is an archipelago of numerous islands and islets, with species often differing from one island to another. Ecuador established the Galápagos National Park in 1959, helping protect its fragile ecosystems.