THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



421 



Albemarle Island. Chatham Island is sixty miles from the 

 nearest part of James Island, but there are two intermediate 

 islands between them which were not visited by me. James 

 Island is only ten miles from the nearest part of Albemarle 

 Island, but the two points where the collections were made 

 are thirty-two miles apart. I must repeat, that neither the 

 nature of the soil, nor height of the land, nor the climate, 

 nor the general character of the associated beings, and there- 

 fore their action one on another, can differ much in the dif- 

 ferent islands. If there be any sensible difference in their 

 climates, it must be between the Windward group (namely, 

 Charles and Chatham Islands), and that to leeward; but 

 there seems to be no corresponding difference in the produc- 

 tions of these two halves of the archipelago. 



The only light which I can throw on this remarkable dif- 

 ference in the inhabitants of the different islands, is, that 

 very strong currents of the sea running in a westerly and 

 W.N.W. direction must separate, as far as transportal by the 

 sea is concerned, the southern islands from the northern 

 ones; and between these northern islands a strong N.W. cur- 

 rent was observed, which must effectually separate James 

 and Albemarle Islands. As the archipelago is free to a 

 most remarkable degree from gales of wind, neither the 

 birds, insects, nor lighter seeds, would be blown from island 

 to island. And lastly, the profound depth of the ocean be- 

 tween the islands, and their apparently recent (in a geologi- 

 cal sense) volcanic origin, render it highly unlikely that they 

 were ever united ; and this, probably, is a far more important 

 consideration than any other, with respect to the geographi- 

 cal distribution of their inhabitants. Reviewing the facts 

 here given, one is astonished at the amount of creative force, 

 if such an expression may be used, displayed on these small, 

 barren, and rocky islands; and still more so, at its diverse 

 yet analogous action on points so near each other. I have 

 said that the Galapagos Archipelago might be called a satel- 

 lite attached to America, but it should rather be called a 

 group of satellites, physically similar, organically distinct, 

 yet intimately related to each other, and all related in a 

 marked, though much lesser degree, to the great American 

 continent. 



