Pinzón or Pinzon Island () is an island in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

's Galápagos Archipelago. It has no permanent population, an area of , and a maximum elevation of . Home to giant

Galápagos tortoise The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a very large species of tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). The species comprises 15 subsp ...

s of the subspecies '' Chelonoidis duncanensis'' and Galápagos sea lions, the island has no visitor facilities and a permit is required for legal visits.

Names

The Spanish name honors the brothers Martín Alonso and Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, who served as the captains of the '' Pinta'' and '' Niña'' on

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

's first voyage. Pinta Island is named after the ship itself. The English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley charted the island as Dean's Island in honor of

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

's protegé Anthony Deane. It was later written Deane Island before the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

James Colnett renamed it Duncan Island in 1794 after Admiral Adam Duncan, later created 1st Viscount Duncan after his victory over the Dutch at Camperdown in 1797.

Geography

Pinzón is part of the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

. It has an area of , and a maximum elevation of .

Flora

Pinzón marks the geographical center of the Galápagos Islands, but neither of the two main Galápagos tree species are present. A unique species of

daisy tree ''Scalesia'' is a genus in the family Asteraceae endemic (ecology), endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It contains fifteen species that grow as shrubs or trees. This is unusual, because tree species are uncommon in Asteraceae. The genus ''Scalesia ...

is found in the humid zone.

Wildlife

During January 2012, invasive rodents were removed from the island by The Galápagos National Park, assisted by Island Conservation to benefit the Pinzón giant tortoise. An infestation of non-native

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

s began in the mid 18th century with the arrival of European sailors. The rats devastated the tortoise population by eating their eggs and young hatchlings that were too small to defend themselves. In December 2014, after 100 years the first new generation of tortoise hatchlings were spotted on Pinzón.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinzon Island Islands of the Galápagos Islands Island restoration