San Cristóbal Canton is a canton of Ecuador in 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 ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

and one of the oldest in this insular geological formation. It consists of Española, Floreana, Genovesa, San Cristóbal, and Santa Fe Islands.

History

Manuel Julián Cobos, a cruel and despotic man, founded a

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantation and sugar refinery shortly after 1869.
Hoff, Stein. Drømmen om Galapagos: Manuel J. Cobos. 14-Oct-2010. He built a fortune after the sugar production and contributed to the San Cristobal settlement. He took the produce to sell in

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

. In 1904, the workers, who were tired of abuse from their master, revolted and killed him. The revolting workers were in fact inmates that were placed initially under Antonio Gil Quezada's orders, but later the Ecuadorian authorities worked together with Manuel Julián Cobos to take the inmates as laborers. Nowadays, their descendants remain on the isle, both Cobos (descendants from Cobos' son Manuel Cobos Tomalá) and his workers. However, some of Cobos descendants (descendants from his daughter Josefina Cobos Baquerizo (universal and rightful heir according to his last will)) remained on the continent (in Ecuador and México) and are spread even into Europe (The Netherlands).

Tourism

The island has white coral and shell beaches and is popular with tourists. One place frequented by tourists is the area where the famous 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 live. There are also impressive sights such as El Junco, a fresh water lake in the crater of a volcano, the Leon Dormido, the Isla Lobos and the Cerro Tijeretas, which lie near

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno Puerto Baquerizo Moreno () is the capital of Galápagos Province, Ecuador. It is located on the southwestern coast of San Cristóbal, the easternmost island in the archipelago, and is the capital of San Cristóbal Canton. It was founded by Gen ...

, the provincial capital. Near Puerto Baqerizo Mareno there is also an Interpretation Centre with exhibits about the history, culture, flora and fauna of the island. There are also animals which are unique to the island, such as a species of mockingbird, and the

lava lizard ''Microlophus'' is a genus of tropidurid lizards native to South America. Around 20 species are recognized and 10 of these are endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where they are commonly known as lava lizards Benavides, Edgar; Baum, Rebecca; Sn ...

; there are also unique plants such as the '' Calandrinia galapagosa'' and the '' Lecocarpus darwinii''. Large, colourful birds and sea lions can also be seen.

References

Cantons of Galápagos Province {{Ecuador-geo-stub