Where Are the Galapagos Islands [Paperback]

Armchair adventurers can set sail for the remote Galapagos Islands and learn about the strange and unique animals that live there. 

The Galapagos Islands are a chain of volcanic islands located on either side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The isolated location of the islands has allowed a vast number of species to develop that are original to each island, such as the marine iguana, the blue-footed booby, the magnificent frigatebird and of course the giant Galapagos tortoise, which may live to be over one hundred years old. Studied by Charles Darwin during his historic voyage on theHMS Beagle, the island life contributed to his groundbreaking theory of evolution. Today the islands are a popular tourist destination and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This book, part of theNew York Timesbest-selling series, is enhanced by eighty illustrations and a detachable fold-out map complete with four photographs on the back.Megan Stine has written several books for young readers, includingWhere Is the White House?,Who Was Marie Curie?, andWho Was Sally Ride?She lives in Clinton, Connecticut.Where Are the Galapagos Islands?
 
It was a hot, dry day in March. The year was 1535. Brother Tomas, the bishop of Panama, was on board a ship sailing from Panama to Peru. He had been sent by King Charles I of Spain to settle problems in Peru. (Spain owned Peru at that time.) The bishop thought there was enough food and water for the trip, but he was wrong. After seven days at sea, the wind suddenly died down. His ship was stranded in the Pacific Ocean. There was no way other than wind to make the ship move—motors didn’t exist yet. He could do nothing but wait until the wind picked up again to fill the sails. For several days, the ship drifted on the ocean currents. The men on board were so thirsty, they thought they might die. They couldn’t drink the salty seawater—it would have klÓõ