Española Island
Encyclopedia
Española Island is part of the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...

. The English named it Hood Island after Viscount Samuel Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...

. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Santa Fe
Santa Fe Island
Santa Fe Island , also called Barrington Island after admiral Samuel Barrington, is a small island of 24 km² which lies in the centre of the Galapagos archipelago, to the south east of Santa Cruz Island. Geologically it is one of the oldest, since volcanic rocks of about 4 million years old...

, one of the oldest, at approximately four million years. A popular tourist stop, Isla Española is the most southerly island in the Galápagos Archipelago. It is about a 10- to 12-hour trip by boat from Isla Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos)
Santa Cruz Island is one of the Galápagos Islands with an area of and a maximum altitude of .Situated in the center of the archipelago, Santa Cruz is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban centre in the islands. On Santa Cruz there are some...

. Tourists come to see the Waved Albatross
Waved Albatross
The Waved Albatross, Phoebastria irrorata - also known as Galapagos Albatross - is the only member of the Diomedeidae family located in the tropics. When they forage, the Waved Albatross follow straight paths to a single site off the coast of Peru, about distant to the east...

es (from March to January, almost the entire world population breeds on the island) and the mating dances of Blue-footed Boobies
Blue-footed Booby
The Blue-footed Booby is a bird in the Sulidae family which comprises ten species of long-winged seabirds. The natural breeding habitat of the Blue-footed Booby is tropical and subtropical islands off the Pacific Ocean, most famously, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.- Etymology :The name booby...

 on Española Island.

Española Island is the oldest of the Galapagos Islands with an estimated age of over 3 million years. However this island is dying, slowly becoming a rocky, barren land with little or no vegetation. But this does give large bays, with sand and soft shingle which attracts a healthy number of Galapagos Sea Lions

Two spots are especially popular with visitors: Bahía Gardner, which has a lovely beach; and Punta Suárez, of interest because of its varied bird-life. This island has its own species of animals, such as the Española Mockingbird, which has a longer and more curved beak than the one on the central islands; the Española lava lizard
Tropidurus
The reptile genus Tropidurus includes several species of Neotropical ground lizards . It is the type genus of this family of iguanian lizards. They are found on the South American mainland, especially in the Amazon Rainforest but also in more arid regions...

; the Marine Iguana
Marine iguana
The Marine Iguana is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile. The Iguana can dive over 30 ft into the water. It has spread to all the islands in the archipelago, and is...

 of the subspecies venustissimus, which has red markings on its back; among others. Here there are also Swallow-tailed Gull
Swallow-tailed Gull
The Swallow-tailed Gull is an equatorial seabird in the gull family Laridae. It is the only species in the genus Creagrus, which derives from the Latin Creagra and the Greek kreourgos which means butcher, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the...

s and other tropical birds.

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