Welcome to the Galapagos Islands! The Galapagos are an archipelago of several volcanic islands located in the Pacific Ocean. The archipelago consists of 13 major islands, six minor islands, and 40 smaller rock formations and reefs spread out over 17,000 square miles of ocean. They are born to create fire, and in the last 200 years a remarkable 50 plus eruptions have occurred. Looking into the geographic location and plate tectonic settings can easily help show why more than 50 eruptions have occurred in such a short period of geologic time.
The Galapagos Islands are located on the equator west of the South American coast. Like many oceanic islands, they are formed by a mantle plume or hotspot like Hawaii. A major subduction zone currently sits under the islands, the two plates that are subducting beneath the South American and Caribbean plates are the Nazca and the Cocos plates. The Galapagos were created by the Cocos and the Nazca plate, which are currently moving......
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