Formation of the Galapagos Islands

Formation of the Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos archipelago consists of 15 main islands , 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets and is located above the Galapagos hot spot , a place wherethe earth's crust is melted from below, creating fascinating volcanoes and lava flows .
The islands of the Galapagos Archipelago were formed by volcanic processes and are formed with frequenteruptions. It is estimated that the formation of the first island took place over 5 million years ago , as a result of tectonic activity. The plate on which is called the Galapagos Islands and the Nazca Platemoves west to east. The Galapagos Islands are volcanic in origin and were formed 3-5 million years ago.
The tectonic plates move and thus can build ridges underwater volcanic material andoccasionally islands peaks of the Cordilleras . This is how the Galapagos Islands were originated .
These volcanoes formed under the sea, made ​​their way across the sea floor , grew in size and eventuallyemerged , rising to the water surface to become islands. Each island is formed by a volcano with the exception of Isabela Island , where lava welded union merging six volcanoes on an island. The islandseast appear to be considerably older than the west, the rocks on Fernandina and Isabela Island are less than 200,000 years.
The rocks that form the western part of the Galapagos are very young (lessthan a million years ) but the mountain range that extends from Galapagos to the edge of the continent of South America ( Cordillera de Carniege ) America has an age of 22 million years .
Most of thecoastline and seabed consists Galápagos lava and tuffs lesser scale .
The sandy beaches are biogenic and volcanic origin. As a result of the cooling of the magma mass produced in the constantvolcanic eruptions, basaltic rocky shores reflect a variety of forms, from flat surfaces to systems of bays, creeks , ditches, cracks, narrow excavations and cavities of all kinds and sizes.
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