TESTUDO ABINGDONII, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. 
CHAPTER XVII 
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 seaweed—Terrestrial lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous— 
Importance of reptiles in the Archipelago — Fish, shells, insects-—Botany — 
American type of organisation—Differences in the species or races on different 
islands—Tameness of the birds—Fear of man an acquired instinct. 
September i 5 th .—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 formed 
of volcanic rocks ; a few fragments of granite curiously glazed 
and altered by the heat can hardly be considered as an excep- 
