Galapagos Islands

On May 31, Google

Doodle celebrated the 42nd anniversary of the recognition of the Galapagos Islands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

Google has replaced its homepage logo with slideshow doodles that show the beauty of the Galapagos Islands. Galapagos is the name of the giant tortoise that can only be found on these islands.

The slideshow captures the Galapagos tortoise on the first slide, lizards on the second one, turtles and fish swimming in the sea on the third, crabs and seagulls on the fourth, seals on the fifth, and penguins on the final one.

The Galapagos Islands were not discovered until 1535. Due to their isolated location — roughly 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador — a unique variety of animals is preserved on the islands to this day.

With a network of ferries running between the islands, the Galapagos is an eco-tourism destination that is among the most select spots in the Pacific.

The national park was created in 1959 to protect 97 percent of the islands’ land surface. A marine reserve spanning 138,000 square kilometers (53,280 square miles) was also established. And a 38,000-squarekilometer marine sanctuary in which all fishing is banned was set up between two of the islands, one called Darwin and the other Wolf. These waters are home to the highest concentration of sharks on Earth.

The islands depend on imports from the mainland and have limited sources of water, so authorities make sure human population growth is contained. These days, only 26,000 people live on the four

islands.