"Nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance. A broken field of black basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves, and crossed by great fissures, is everywhere covered by stunted, sun-burnt brushwood, which shows little signs of life. The dry and parched surface, being heated by the noon-day sun, gave to the air a close and sultry feeling, like that from a stove: we fancied even that the bushes smelt unpleasantly."

We're off to see the lizards...

Second trip:

July 25 - August 5, 2010

aboard the Isabela II

Stanford Travel Study

serving as faculty leader

Galápagos 2010

Galápagos 2010 people

Darwin's adventures in the Galápagos

Boobies

First trip:

Bob and Tom's Excellent Adventure

aboard the Corinthian

June 15-25, 1997

Stanford field seminar

(A sampler of Tom's photos)

Resources

The Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galápagos Islands (CDF)

Selected References

Guide Books

Galápagos: A Natural History by Michael H. Jackson, University of Calgary Press, 1993

Evolution

The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner, Vintage, 1994

Description of work by Peter and Rosemary Grant and colleagues, primarily on Daphne Major

Picture Books

Galápagos: Islands Lost in Time by Tui De Roy Moore Viking, 1980

Galápagos: A Terrestrial and Marine Phenomenon by Paul Humann Ediciones Libri Mundi Enriquegrosse-Luemern, 1988

A Visit To Galápagos by Katie Lee Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1994 (drawings)

And for something different:

Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Teaching a Stone to Talk : Expeditions and Encounters by Annie Dillard

(contains a poem about the Galápagos)

Floreana; A Woman's Pilgrimage to the Galápagos by Margaret Wittmer

Web links

Olivia Judson New York Times blog

Other adventures