Galapagos Islands

  The islands, still uninhabited on a permanent basis by man and, hence, shrouded in mystery, soon came to be known as the Enchanted Islands because they disappeared into the fog at certain times of year and could not be seen by passing ships. In fact, some 17th-century Spaniards claimed that the Galapagos Islands were not islands at all, but mere shadows. But by the 18th century, British (and later, early American) whalers and sealers began to visit the islands regularly as part of an effort to set up an industry center in the Pacific Ocean.

  In the past century, the Galapagos Islands have been given the official name Archipelago de Colon ("Columbus's Archipelago"), in honor of Christopher Columbus, by the government of Ecuador. In 1934, the first legislation to protect the islands was enacted. The archipelago was later named a national park and is administered by the Ecuadorian National Park Service to this day. Since the 1964 establishment of the Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz, the Galapagos Islands have primarily become a site of increased scientific study and tourism. Today, scientific expeditions, like the Frontiers trip to the islands, are important sources of information on how to conserve the delicate Galapagos ecosystems -- and, ultimately, the whole planet -- into the next century.