b72 



GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO. 



[chap. xvir. 



CHAPTER XYII. 



GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO. 



The whole group volcanic — Number of craters — Leafless bushes — Colony at 

 Charles Island — James Island — Salt-lake in crater — Natural History of 

 the group — Ornithology, curious finches — Reptiles — Great tortoises, habits 

 of — Marine lizard, feeds on sea-weed — Terrestrial lizard, burrowing habits, 

 herbivorous — Importance of reptiles in the Archipelago — Fish^ shells, 

 insects — Botany — American type of organization — Ditferences in the 

 species or races on different islands — Tameness of the birds — Fear of man, 

 an acquired instinct. 



September loth. — This archipelago consists of ten principal 

 islands, of which five exceed the others in size. They are 

 situated under the Equator, and between five and six hundred 

 miles westward of the coast of America. They are all fornied 



Culpepper /. 



Wenman I» 



^0 Miles 



Ku) borough I. p 



I Ahir^donl. 



^^^ 4 Tower I. 



JBindhcsI. 



''"^K James I. 



^..^ '^, Indefatigable I. 



iO^ ChcJhaar. 

 Barnngtonl. 



£i^ 



Charles I. 



Hood s L 



