The Galápagos Islands are a group of volcanic islands stretched along the Equator in the easternmost Pacific Ocean, about 750 km (475 mi) due west of the mainland of Ecuador. The archipelago was annexed by Ecuador in 1832 and the first settlements were made in that year. In 1959 the islands were made a national park. Famous for exotic scenery and equally exotic wildlife, the islands quickly became a popular tourist destination. In order to support this tourism the permanent population has increased to about 35,000. The islands have been officially renamed the Archipiélago de Colón (Columbus Islands), although this name is rarely used outside the country. Politically, however, the islands are organized as Galápagos Province. In Spanish the word for a lighthouse is faro, isla is an island, cabo is a cape, punta is a promontory or point of land, péñon is a rock, arrecife is a reef, bahía is a bay, ría is an estuary or inlet, estrecho is a strait, río is a river, and puerto is a port or harbor. Also, galápago is a word for a web-footed turtle that lives in water. Aids to navigation in Ecuador are owned by the Navy (Armada del Ecuador) and maintained by the Departamento de Ayudas a Navegación of the Navy's Instituto Oceanográfico. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 111.
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Notable faux lighthouse:
Adjoining page: East: Ecuador
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Posted October 22, 2012. Checked and revised November 22, 2024. Lighthouses: 14. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.