Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-11
Island CLASSED
AS WORLD MUSEUM
Scientists vlewut Galapagos
Archipelago, 600 MIles
OFT Ecuador Coast.

0issens u quito. carlsal Il xoaAdurs
recently petitioned their Congress. urg@
ing the leasing Of the Galapagos Ia
lands to foreign government.
'rictnrNfA large. erumpiea coli sock.
Two rough rectangular eelf course sand
traps. and hundreds Of badly chipped
golf balls OF various stxes. al greatly
tnagnaned and aprinkled about tth6
Equator 600 miles on the coast az
Ecuador and you win have q fair ideg
Of one 81 the worlds outstAndngln nat
ural history museums." eays thk MAJ
tional Geographic Society.
The Galapagos archipelago wa
found 600 yeArs ago when . 0pAhish
bishop, while sailing from Panama q
Peru, was blown upon one 81 the Isl
lands. Later the archipelago was
peopled by an assortment Of pirates
and buccaneers, who pgeyed upon
Pacific shipping, and by Ecuador cone
victs. American whAaers used the is
lands IS . post. ONCE. Crews from the
In Post Once Bay for whaling crewB
already In the Pacific.
Isolate From Shipping Lanes.
Before the Panama Canal was com.
pleted the Galapagos IalAnds were
isolated from shipping lanes. Nov
they are near the Panama-AustraliA
mountainsides and their lnhabltante
and villages have not stirred the
curiosity Of most AightseeFs. Most 81
the 500 Inhabitants are HpAnIshstpeaR
ing Ecuadurtans like those eeen ~ any
port Of Ecuador. The VILLAGES con.
sist Of matched huts and small wooden
buildings clustered near the few sugar.
coffee and cotton plantations estabs
ltshed IN the small areas which lave
rock has not completely covered. Only
two Of the Islands are iltfAbitad.
ITO scientisis Che arcnireiseb Il 4
huge laboratory with an aggregate area
greater than Delaware. Charles Darwin
visited the ISLANDS In 1889. he found
animal and plant life that wa tine
known % science. During the past 81
years some 81 the worlds famous sciens
lists have stumbled through thorny una
dergrowth,n lodged the Vicious spinet
OF huge cactus plants. and scaled lava
rocks IN the afin coastal zones ThGN
also have penet ted the more hsxarta1it
growth In the mountains where there
is greater moisture IN tlaa AtsnosphefA
and descended into some OF the daIae
,.,..z :. - s...,.,. : -.
ana q NYicanlc origin.
The archipelago Is Of volcanic origin.
There are upwarli1 OF 2s0oo cfAters On
the islandss each island has &C least
one. since 1926 several efuptions have
occurred, but NEST Of the crAters are
cold fi sYs ss
Galapagos wild life Is tanner tran
the doks, cats; kukis, pies, dnnkeys Md
cattle which were lest OF deserted on
the archipelago. Z These NisiboF1. have
arce 70 the ihhahitansS.
"Sea lions poke taeif heads Ahoys The
waves and sfAftie strangers with their
linfriendlys and thSfe are few an.
mails more u4iy than thA water iknana.
a giant lizard which cayoftN ah6sif the
Islands quiet bhys But ashore. ele
may approach within 4 few fNe1 az tiikse
animals. Meanwhile tl1essEasa1ss az
/ scarIet-shelled crabs that form 4 nlahkei
an, ere r0nkN and kand. l,,ove NEssak .e1rs-
| AFRAID An fla hns2 - SlfsAs ekea 49, -
come into tnesr hRiiivsSSf TN@ $500
! iruar,a .is Efae nsGse es9.snssse lssaTss
known ia srielne. Is ssotn ~ wSenF as Z;
land iauNsfnN 6ils< - fn1sye 4ea1 a IersI1fS1