of all the islands in the oceans of the
world
one group more than any other has
changed the way people look at the
planet and the forces that shape it the
Galapagos Islands the enchanted islands
the islands of fire located in the
Pacific Ocean about a thousand
kilometers offshore from Ecuador as a
young man Charles Darwin visited there
in 1835 and was amazed by the creatures
he saw giant tortoises
flightless cormorants guano’s all living
side by side with fur seals and penguins
right on the equator it became his
laboratory for the study of origins of
life
[Music]
but Darwin did not see the love of the
silence underwater
if you fly over you can see 19 big
islands and dozens of Rocky pilots
projecting above the water surface
[Music]
if you could hitch a ride on a turtle or
will or can imagine draining away the
surrounding Pacific Ocean you would see
the real Galapagos Islands a chain of
undersea mountains a submerged
archipelago that stretches for hundreds
of miles and hosts a lively assemblage
of underwater plants and animals
including many that live there and only
there
deep cold ocean currents converge under
the equatorial Sun a natural living
laboratory on the land and in the
surrounding sea
in 1977 northeast of the Galapagos
Islands and about 2,000 meters down
scientists discovered hot water vents
connected to the core of the earth a
discovery that brought radical new
insight into how the world is formed
amazingly the hydrothermal vents
supported a food chain not dependent on
the energy of the Sun but on chemical
energy from the heart of the earth
specifically hydrogen sulfide microbes
gather near the vents on the sea floor
and feed off the warm mineral rich water
welling up from the Earth’s mantle the
microbes thrive in the deep blackness of
the sea surrounded by creatures that in
turn feed off them dozens of small
medium and rather large creatures not
previously known to exist
when Darwin arrived on the Galapagos no
people lived on the islands but whalers
and pirates had already depleted the
tortoises Turtles and many of the birds
that had no fear of humans and could
easily be picked up and eaten
by the 1960s a few thousand people had
settled there and efforts were underway
to protect the nature of the islands as
something important not only to the
people of Ecuador but to the world the
land and surrounding ocean are now
recognized as world heritage sites and
97% of the land above the ocean surface
is protected as a national park
[Music]
in 1998 some of the surrounding scene
was also designated as a Marine Reserve
the pressures from the now 30,000
residents in more than 100,000 annual
visitors and an international market for
its marine wildlife for causing problems
for all of the creatures on the islands
including its people
there’s still a chance here to glimpse
the past and to plan a future where
people can find ways to take care of the
natural world
that takes care of us
[Music]
you
world
one group more than any other has
changed the way people look at the
planet and the forces that shape it the
Galapagos Islands the enchanted islands
the islands of fire located in the
Pacific Ocean about a thousand
kilometers offshore from Ecuador as a
young man Charles Darwin visited there
in 1835 and was amazed by the creatures
he saw giant tortoises
flightless cormorants guano’s all living
side by side with fur seals and penguins
right on the equator it became his
laboratory for the study of origins of
life
[Music]
but Darwin did not see the love of the
silence underwater
if you fly over you can see 19 big
islands and dozens of Rocky pilots
projecting above the water surface
[Music]
if you could hitch a ride on a turtle or
will or can imagine draining away the
surrounding Pacific Ocean you would see
the real Galapagos Islands a chain of
undersea mountains a submerged
archipelago that stretches for hundreds
of miles and hosts a lively assemblage
of underwater plants and animals
including many that live there and only
there
deep cold ocean currents converge under
the equatorial Sun a natural living
laboratory on the land and in the
surrounding sea
in 1977 northeast of the Galapagos
Islands and about 2,000 meters down
scientists discovered hot water vents
connected to the core of the earth a
discovery that brought radical new
insight into how the world is formed
amazingly the hydrothermal vents
supported a food chain not dependent on
the energy of the Sun but on chemical
energy from the heart of the earth
specifically hydrogen sulfide microbes
gather near the vents on the sea floor
and feed off the warm mineral rich water
welling up from the Earth’s mantle the
microbes thrive in the deep blackness of
the sea surrounded by creatures that in
turn feed off them dozens of small
medium and rather large creatures not
previously known to exist
when Darwin arrived on the Galapagos no
people lived on the islands but whalers
and pirates had already depleted the
tortoises Turtles and many of the birds
that had no fear of humans and could
easily be picked up and eaten
by the 1960s a few thousand people had
settled there and efforts were underway
to protect the nature of the islands as
something important not only to the
people of Ecuador but to the world the
land and surrounding ocean are now
recognized as world heritage sites and
97% of the land above the ocean surface
is protected as a national park
[Music]
in 1998 some of the surrounding scene
was also designated as a Marine Reserve
the pressures from the now 30,000
residents in more than 100,000 annual
visitors and an international market for
its marine wildlife for causing problems
for all of the creatures on the islands
including its people
there’s still a chance here to glimpse
the past and to plan a future where
people can find ways to take care of the
natural world
that takes care of us
[Music]
you
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