Galapagos High Sea

The sea north of the Galápagos surrounds an isolated chain of volcanic islands on the equator. Currents moving through the archipelago sustain seabirds, fish and marine mammals far from the mainland. By the late eighteenth century whalers used the islands as a base while pursuing sperm whales in the eastern Pacific. They relied on island anchorages for fresh water, wood and tortoises during voyages that could last many months.