John Kuester, age 14, of Biloxi, Miss., for his question:
WHO OWNS THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS?
The Galapagos Islands are owned by Ecuador. They lie about 600 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. The group of islands is also often called the Colon Archipelago.
The group is made up of 15 large and about 200 small islands. Together the islands cover an area of about 2,900 square miles. They are made up of volcanic peaks. They are located near where the 90 degree west longitude line meets the Equator.
The main islands include Isabela (Albemarle), Santa Cruz (Indefatigable), San Cristobal (Chatham), Fernandina (Narborough) and San Salvador (James). Today about 9,000 people live on the islands.
Back in the olden days, pirates often buried their stolen treasure on the islands. In those days the group was called the Enchanted Isles. Mutineers were also sometimes left there.
The Galapagos Islands have become famous because of the large number of strange animals and birds that live there. Perhaps the most famous animals are the large lizards called iguanas. Some of them grow to be four feet long.
In the Galapagos also are found rare cormorants that cannot fly and a variety of mockingbirds not found anywhere else on Earth. In addition there are penguins, once widely believed to live only in the Antarctic.
Almost as famous as the iguana, or perhaps maybe even more famous, are the giant turtles that live on the Galapagos Islands. Some of them weigh more than 500 pounds. The Spanish word for turtle, galapagos, gave the archipelago its name.
In addition to strange birds and animals, many ordinary creatures can also be found on the islands. There are all sorts of sea birds, including boobies. Its scarlet crabs are the same as an Atlantic variety from which they have been separated for about 35 million years.
As many as 85 kinds of birds can be found on the Galapagos. Some can be found only on specific islands while others can be found on several. Birds include flamingos and finches.
There are lots of sea lions on the islands and lots of fish in waters near the shores.
Most of the people who live on the islands are Ecuadorians. They fish for tuna, groupers and spiny lobsters and they also grow vegetables, tropical fruits and coffee.
Large sections of the Galapagos are protected as wildlife sanctuaries.
Charles Darwin spent six weeks on the islands in 1835 studying the fauna. His observations were included in his famous "Origin of Species."
The Spanish discovered the islands in 1535. Buccaneers were there in the 17th and 18th centuries and British and U. S. whaling ships landed often during the 19th century. The islands were annexed by Ecuador in 1832.
A satellite tracking station has been in operation on the Galapagos Islands since 1967.