‘Darwin’s Arch’ - Iconic Landmark In The Galápagos - Collapses Into The Sea - Forbes

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Darwin's Arch with Darwin Island in background.

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Darwin’s Arch, a rock formation south-east of Darwin Island in the Galápagos archipelago, which lies 600 miles (1,000 km) off South America in the Pacific Ocean, has collapsed due to natural erosion, Ecuador’s environment ministry tweeted on Monday.

The rock formation collapsed Monday morning at 11:20 a.m. local time during a visit of divers at the site, fortunately nobody was harmed. Images shared on the ministry Facebook page on Tuesday show only two rocky pillars still standing. The post said: “This event is a consequence of natural erosion. Darwin’s Arch is made of natural stone that at one time would have been part of Darwin Island."

Darwin Island is named in honor of Charles Darwin, who visited the Galápagos in 1835, and is among the smallest in the archipelago with an area of just 0.3 square miles (less than 1 km²). With no dry landing sites, Darwin Island's main attractions are found in the sea, which is teeming with a spectacular variety of marine life and is a famous spotting site for sea turtles, whale sharks, manta rays, dolphins and other species.

It is a volcanic island that sits on a rocky platform about 32 feet (10 m) underwater, extending to the southeast, where Darwin's Arch once sat. The open ocean surrounding the platform is more than 328 feet (100 m) deep.

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Most natural arches, also called natural bridges, are erosion features that occur in massive, horizontally bedded sandstone or limestone. In case of Darwin's Arch the geological formation formed by wave action and erosion of horizontally bedded lava flows, cutting off the arch from the nearby island and enlarging the opening. The inevitable collapse of the bridge portion of a sea arch commonly produces a sea stack or pillar. Locals already coined a name for the new geological formation, calling the two stone monoliths that remain "The Pillars of Evolution," CNN reported.

The Galápagos are one of the most famous stops during Darwin's five-year-long voyage around the world, even if he never mentions the now famous finches in his Origin of Species and describes the islands only briefly in his travel accounts. However, fifteen pages are dedicated to the geology of the Galápagos in his book Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands, visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, published in 1844.

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May 20, 2021 at 06:03PM
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‘Darwin’s Arch’ - Iconic Landmark In The Galápagos - Collapses Into The Sea - Forbes

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