Ecology, demography and conservation in the Galapagos Islands flora

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511844270.017

16 - Ecology, demography and conservation in the Galapagos Islands flora

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 October 2011

Ole Hamann

Edited by

David Bramwell and

Juli Caujapé-Castells

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Ole Hamann: Affiliation:
Botanical Garden of the Natural History Museum of Denmark
David Bramwell: Affiliation:
Jardín Botánico Canario 'Viera y Clavijo' - Unidad Asociada CSIC
Juli Caujapé-Castells: Affiliation:
Jardín Botánico Canario 'Viera y Clavijo' - Unidad Asociada CSIC

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Summary

The islands

The Galapagos are true oceanic islands, which except for the two northernmost, Darwin and Wolf, rise from a relatively shallow submarine platform. The oldest islands are composed of uplifted lava flows and are about 4.5 million years old (Ma): they are found in the eastern part of the archipelago (Española, Santa Fe, Plazas, Baltra, Seymour and a narrow strip along the northeast coast of Santa Cruz). All the other islands are formed by great volcanoes and are much younger; no rocks older than 0.7 Ma have been found on Fernandina, Isabela, Santiago, Pinta, Genovesa, Marchena and Darwin, and Fernandina could even be as young as 60 000 bp, according to Geist (1996). The islands consist typically of one or several shield volcanoes culminating in craters or large calderas. Eruptions are frequent, particularly in the westernmost islands, Isabela and Fernandina, and the landscape displays a variety of craters, huge, barren fields of lava, ash or scoria, and vegetated areas.

Type: Chapter
Information: The Biology of Island Floras , pp. 385 - 424

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511844270.017 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2011

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