Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos)
 Santa Cruz Island
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Galápagos Islands, Ecuador |
| Coordinates | 0°37′23″S 90°22′06″W / 0.623017°S 90.368254°WCoordinates: 0°37′23″S 90°22′06″W / 0.623017°S 90.368254°W |
| Archipelago | Galápagos Islands |
| Highest elevation | 864 m (2,835 ft). |
| Administration | |
Santa Cruz Island (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsanta ˈkɾus]) is one of the Galápagos Islands with an area of 986 km2 (381 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 864 metres (2,835 ft). Situated in the center of the archipelago, Santa Cruz is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban centre in the islands. On Santa Cruz there are some small villages, whose inhabitants work in agriculture and cattle raising. This island is a large dormant volcano. It is estimated that the last eruptions occurred around a million and a half years ago. There is a gigantic lava tunnel that is over 2000 meters long on the island that many tourists visit and walk through. As a testimony to its volcanic history there are two big holes formed by the collapse of a magma chamber: Los Gemelos, or "The Twins". Named after the Holy Cross, its English name (Indefatigable) was given after a British vessel HMS Indefatigable. Santa Cruz hosts the largest human population in the archipelago at the town of Puerto Ayora, with a total of 12,000 residents on the island.
Tortuga Bay is located on the Santa Cruz Island, a short walk from center of Puerto Ayora where you can view Marine iguanas, birds, galapagos crabs and a natural mangrove where you can spot white tip reef sharks and the gigantic galápagos tortoise.
Galápagos tortoise on Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos)
Galápagos lava lizard (Microlophus albemarlensis) on Santa Cruz Island
Fresh water swimming in Puerto Ayora, the Island of Santa Cruz
Two White-cheeked pintails on the Island of Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Islands
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Wikipedia