The collapse of the Darwin Arch, a geological and tourist icon of the Galapagos Islands

Acquaintance Darwin’s Arch, It is an iconic geological and tourism formation, located in North Galapagos IslandsIt collapsed on Monday after a normal erosion process, it said Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment.

This gigantic formation, similar to the Arc de Triomphe, was visited by tourists regularly and a site where diving activities were practiced, according to tour operators in the area, who had not reported casualties or other types of damage.

The ministry said in a message on Twitter that “the collapse of Darwin’s Arch, the attractive natural bridge” located near Darwin Island, the northernmost archipelago of the Galapagos, was “the result of natural erosion.”

We report that the collapse of the Darwin Arch was reported today, May 17th, which is the attractive natural bridge located less than a kilometer from the main island of Darwin, the northernmost island of the archipelago. # Galapagos. This event will be a result of natural erosion.

Hector Barrera pic.twitter.com/lBZJWNbgHg

Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment and Water (Ambiente_Ec) May 17, 2021

The so-called Darwin Arch is a natural stone that was once part of the island of the same name, and there is no way to visit it overland, due to the protection of the biodiversity of the Ecuadorian archipelago.

The ministry stated that the site is “one of the best places on the planet to dive and monitor schools of sharks and other species.”

According to photographs taken by tourists, the threshold of Darwin’s Arch appears to have collapsed and only the pillars of the formation remain of it.

On this site, after diving, you can see sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, countless species of fish and even whale sharks, according to the area’s tour operators.

Diving specialists described this place as the best in the world for this activity and called diving “theater”, because the visitor can remain still, clinging to the rocks below the surface, to see the sight of marine species.

This archipelago, which arose from underwater volcanic eruptions, is located in one of the most active volcanic regions on the planet and is also subject to significant seismic activity.

The Galapagos Islands, declared by UNESCO in 1978 as a natural heritage of mankind, are located in the Pacific Ocean about a thousand kilometers west of the continental coast of Ecuador.

This archipelago, made up of 13 large islands, 6 smaller islands and 42 islands, is a natural laboratory that allowed English scientist Charles Darwin to develop his theory of the evolution and natural selection of species.

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