Darwin's Arch ( es, Arco de Darwin) was a natural rock arch feature to the south-east of

Darwin Island Darwin Island (Spanish: ''Isla Darwin'') is among the smallest in the Galápagos Archipelago with an area of just . It is named in honour of English scientist Charles Darwin. With no dry landing sites, Darwin Island's main attractions are fo ...

in the Galápagos Archipelago in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, and is now a pillar formation. The arch sat on an irregularly shaped, rocky, submerged plateau, nicknamed "the theatre". The arch collapsed into the sea on 17 May 2021 from natural

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

. Darwin's Arch, along with the nearby Darwin Island, was named after English naturalist

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

, whose studies in the surrounding area helped him to form his theory of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

by means of

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...

. As a tribute to Darwin and his works, some locals and industry professionals have nicknamed the remaining stone "towers" the Pillars of Evolution ( es, Los Pilares de la Evolución).

Geography

Part of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

's Galápagos Archipelago,

is a small, uninhabited island with an area of and an elevation of . Darwin's Arch was to the southeast of the island and had a bridge-like appearance, which had been caused by erosion. The plateau's wall drops away into the sea, and the arch's ocean side featured a "viewing platform" at . The arch was high, long, and wide.

Fauna

From its southern tip to the sloping channel, the marine fauna seen are

scalloped hammerhead The scalloped hammerhead (''Sphyrna lewini'') is a species of hammerhead shark in the family Sphyrnidae. It was originally known as ''Zygaena lewini''. The Greek word ''sphyrna'' translates into "hammer" in English, referring to the shape of thi ...

s, manta rays, big-eye jacks, bonito,

yellowfin tuna The yellowfin tuna (''Thunnus albacares'') is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from the Hawaiian , a name also used there for the closely related bigeye ...

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

s, big schooling of species of

pelagic fish Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters—being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore—in contrast with demersal fish that do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish that are associated with coral re ...

, and also

whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, ...

s of up to in length. The whale sharks are found from early July. Other marine fauna include

Moorish idol The Moorish idol (''Zanclus cornutus'') is a marine fish species, the sole extant representative of the family Zanclidae (from the Greek ζαγκίος, ''zagkios'', "oblique") in order Acanthuriformes. A common inhabitant of tropical to subtr ...

s, Galapagos sharks,

eagle ray The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom. Eagle rays feed on mollusks and crustaceans, crushing their shells with the ...

green turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

hawksbill turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is lar ...

silkie The Silkie (also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken) is a breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, ...

and white-tipped reef sharks,

barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...

and black jack sharks. Many birds are endemic and the species commonly noted is the sooty tern (''Sterna fuscata''), which breeds on Darwin Island.

Tourism

The arch was popular with photographers and cruise-ship tours. The rich wildlife around the arch made it a popular scuba diving location. As with Darwin Island, tourists were not permitted to set foot on the arch. The surrounding area of the Galápagos Islands was declared a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 1978.

Collapse

On 17 May 2021, at 11:20a.m. Galápagos Time ( UTC–6), the arch collapsed through natural erosion. A post from Ecuador's Ministry of Environment and Water stated that "this event was a consequence of natural erosion. Darwin's Arch is made of natural stone that at one time would have been part of Darwin Island, which is not open to visits by land." The event was witnessed by divers aboard the ''Galapagos Aggressor III''. Following the collapse of the arch, the remaining columns of rock have been nicknamed the "Pillars of Evolution" ( es, Los Pilares de la Evolución) by locals in the tourism and diving industry. The nickname alludes to the arch and the nearby island having been named after Charles Darwin, whose studies of the surrounding area's wildlife contributed to the inception of his theory of

by means of

References

External links

* {{Recreational dive sites, reesit Charles Darwin Galápagos Islands Landforms of Ecuador Landforms of Galápagos Province Natural arches Stacks (geology) Collapsed arches