Geology of the Galapagos Islands

To better understand the importance of the Galapagos Islands and its significance as a mecca to evolutionists, it is key that the geology of these islands be first studied so that one can realize more clearly, how these small islands came to play such a vital role in the theory of evolution. Darwin being the first geologist to explore the Galapagos in detail, made many valid observations that still hold true today. Fascinated by uniqueness of each island, he carefully studied every island in detail and came up with his theory of natural selection.

The most important geological fact of the Galapagos Islands is that this region is one of the world’s most active volcanic areas, with over 50 eruptions having taken place here since 1535. The most current volcanic eruptions in the Galapagos have occurred in 1995 and 1998 on the Fernandina and Isabela islands respectively. Thought to have been formed nearly 5 million years ago by the eruption of underwater volcanoes, the Galapagos Islands are somewhat like the Hawaiian Islands. Created when underwater volcanoes rose to the surface, many older volcanoes in this region are still completely submerged underwater. The Carnegie Ridge, which lies to the east of the Galapagos, sits some 2000 meters beneath the Pacific Ocean and is over 9 million years old.

Never part of the mainland, the formation of these islands is still ongoing; one reason for this is because the Galapagos Archipelago is actually very young in terms of its comparison to the earth’s age. Comprising of 13 islands, 6 smaller islands and 42 islets, the Galapagos is still growing. Each island has been formed by a single volcano, with the exception of Isabela Island which is made up of 6 volcanoes. The oldest islands of the Galapagos are the San Cristobal and Espanola which are around 3.5 million years old.

Another key fact about the geology of the Galapagos is that the islands are not formed near the crossroads of two tectonic plates like most other volcanoes are. Instead, they are formed within the Nazca Plate and are the result of a ‘hot spot’. In simple terms, a hotspot is a stationary area of high thermal energy that lies below the tectonic plates, which after frequent intervals produce enough energy to melt the earth’s crust and produce a powerful volcanic eruption.

Composed mainly of cooled down basalt, the Galapagos Islands mostly have shield volcanoes, rather than the conical volcanoes most people usually find. And while one may not be able to climb a volcano and see it up close and personal, by visiting the east end of San Salvador at Sullivan Bay, one can find uneroded flowing lava that dates back 100 years.

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