Santa Fe Island

Santa Fe Island (Spanish: Isla Santa Fe), also called Barrington Island after admiral Samuel Barrington, is a small island of 24 square kilometres (9.3 sq mi) which lies in the centre of the Galápagos archipelago, to the southeast of Santa Cruz Island.[1] Geologically it is one of the oldest; volcanic rocks of about 4 million years old have been found.[2] The vegetation of the island is characterized by brush, palo santo trees and stands of a large variety of the prickly pear cactus Opuntia echios.[3]

Santa Fe Island
Isla Santa Fe as seen from Playa el Garrapatero, Isla Santa Cruz
Santa Fe Island
Location in the Galápagos Islands
Geography
LocationGalápagos Islands, Ecuador
Coordinates0.818°S 90.062°W / -0.818; -90.062
ArchipelagoGalápagos Islands
Administration
Prickly pear cactus and swallow-tailed gulls on Santa Fe Island

Santa Fe is home to two endemic species and two endemic subspecies: the Barrington land iguana (Conolophus pallidus), the Barrington leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus barringtonensis),[4] the Santa Fe marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus trillmichi) and the Santa Fe rice rat (Aegialomys galapagoensis bauri).

The visitor site is a wet landing located in Barrington Bay on the northeastern side of the island. Large numbers of sea lions are found on the beaches in the bay, occasionally hindering access to the two trails leading from the beach.

References
  1. "Santa Fé". Galapagos Conservancy. galapagos.org. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. "Santa Fe Island Tour". galapagosalternative.com. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  3. "SANTA FE ISLAND (BARRINGTON) , GALAPAGOS". animalcorner.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  4. "Phyllodactylus barringtonensis ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
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