South Plaza: The Plazas are a pair of islets situated just off the east coast of Santa Cruz. Only South Plaza Island is a Visitor Site and is another example of a geological uplift. In this case, the southern portion of this narrow islet (only a couple hundred yards wide) has considerably more uplift to it, forming cliffs with spectacular views. |
|
The tour begins with a dry landing. There is often a sea lion guarding the natural dock; let the Guide take care of the situation . The trail leading to the cliffs goes through a combined Coastal and Dry Vegetation Zone with prickly pear cactus and extensive patches of salt-tolerant Sesuvium. One of the first stops is in a small "forest" of prickly pear (Opuntia) cactus, which provides ample food to a population of land iguanas, also found in this area.
Over the last few years, a small population of "hybrid" iguanas have been observed here - basically, a cross between a land and a marine iguana. The hybrids look quite different, with a "striped" appearance and a facial structure that is not as flattened" as a marine iguana nor as elongated as a land iguana.
Baltra (South Seymour): The origin of its name is unknown. It has an area of 27 km² and a maximum altitude of 100 m.
The main airport of the archipelago is located here and was built during WWII by the United States Navy to patrol the Panama Canal.
Land iguanas were reintroduced after the native population became extinct during the time when American soldiers were posted in this island, and marine iguanas and marine turtles can also be seen here |
|
|
