Where are the Galapoagos Islands? -- The islands are born -- Pirates and whales -- Darwin arrives -- Meet the islands -- The weirdest birds in the world -- Land animals in a water world -- The human threat -- Protecting the islands.;Armchair adventurers can set sail for the remote Galapagos Islands and learn about the strange and unique animals that live there. The Galapagos Islands are a chain of volcanic islands located on either side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The isolated location of the islands has allowed a vast number of species to develop that are original to each island, such as the marine iguana, the blue-footed booby, the magnificentfrigatebird and of course the giant Galapagos tortoise, which may live to be over one hundred years old. Studied by Charles Darwin during his historic voyage on the HMS Beagle, the island life contributed to his groundbreaking theory of evolution. Today the islands are a popular tourist destination and a UNESCO World Heritage site. This book, part of the New York Times best-selling series, is enhanced by eighty illustrations and a detachable fold-out map complete with four photographs on the back.