Located 2000 miles to the West of Ecuador, the Galapagos archipelgo is famous in natural history, and evolutionary biology in particular.

The Galapagos islands are celebrated for their ecological diversity, although this is being threatened by human interference, particularly from tourists. The Galapagos giant tortoises (pictured opposite) and marine iguanas are two well known species close to extinction.

In evolutionary biology, the Galapagos archipelgo was visited by Charles Darwin in 1835 while travelling aboard the Beagle . Darwin's observation of the different species of finch were later instrumental as he developed his theory of evolution by natural selection.