  Española Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Galápagos Islands,Ecuador |
| Coordinates | 1°23′S89°41′W / 1.38°S 89.68°W /-1.38; -89.68 |
| Archipelago | Galápagos Islands |
| Administration | |
Española orEspanola Island (Spanish:Isla Española) is the most southerly of theGalápagos Islands inEcuador, about a 10 to 12-hour trip by boat fromSanta Cruz.
Española,Spanish for Spanish, is named forHispaniola in theCaribbean Sea owing to its discovery byChristopher Columbus onhis first voyage. The name was changed with several other islands in 1892 during the celebration of thequadricentennial of Columbus's voyage.
TheEnglish pirateWilliam Ambrosia Cowley named the islandKing Charles's Island[1] in 1684 in honor of the then-reigningmonarchCharles II ofEngland.[2] However, theBritishcaptainJames Colnett later misunderstood Cowley's maps and accidentally transferred that name to what is nowFloreana Island.[2] Thinking Española undiscovered until that point, he renamed itHood Island in 1793 in honor ofAdmiral Samuel Hood,Baronet ofCatherington and 1stBaron Hood, later created 1stViscount Hood for his success in theNapoleonic Wars.[2]
Española is one ofEcuador'sGalápagos Islands.[3] Located at the extreme southeast of the archipelago, it is considered to be one of the oldest of the islands, having first formed approximately four millionyears ago. The climate is generally dry, receiving only a few inches of rain per year.
While Española Island is one of the oldest of the Galápagos Islands, this island is dying, slowly becoming a rocky, barren land with little or no vegetation.[citation needed] Its large bays, however, have soft sand and attractGalápagos sea lions. A major draw is thewaved albatrosses since, from March to January, almost the entire world population breeds on the island. Another draw is the mating dances ofblue-footed boobies. Two spots are especially popular, Gardner Bay (Bahía Gardner) with its beach and Suarez Point (Punta Suárez) because of its varied bird-life. This island has its own species of animals, such as theHood mockingbird, which has a longer and more curved beak than the one on the central islands; theEspañola lava lizard; and themarine iguana of the subspeciesvenustissimus, which has red markings on its back. There are alsoswallow-tailed gulls,Galapagos hawks, and other birds. The island has been recognized as anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International.[4] In January 2020, it was widely reported that a maleGalápagos tortoise namedDiego fathered and resurrected the island tortoise population, saving the diminishing species from near extinction.[5]
TheAmerican authorHerman Melville mentions the island in his 1854novellaThe Encantadas. The 1982novelLa Iguana bySpanish authorAlberto Vázquez-Figueroa takes place on the island. The novel was later dramatized as the 1988 filmIguana byAmerican directorMonte Hellman.[6]
Espanola (Galápagos) travel guide from Wikivoyage