Darwin Island - Galapagos

Official Name: Isla Darwin (Darwin Island)
English Name: Culpepper Island
Visitor Sites: none - only dive sites
Area: 0.4 sq. miles (1 sq km)
Max altitude: 490 feet (150 meters)
Approximate Age: 4 million years old

Animals Regularly Seen: Scallopped Hammerhead Sharks, Galapagos Sharks, Manta Rays, Sea Turtles, Reef Fish
Animals occasionally or seasonally seen: Whale shark
Animals rarely seen: Albino Whale Shark

Outstanding characteristics: One of the best dive sites in the world!

Darwin Island (also named Culpepper), honors the archipelago's most famous visitor, Charles Darwin. Darwin Island the northernmost island in the archipelago and is an incredible place for divers along with its nearby neighbor of Wolf Island. Although it has only a couple of dive sites, which are situated on the southeastern and northeaster sdies of "Darwin's Arch", these dives can be absolutely overwhelming and divers often return to the boat awed by their experiences.

Darwin's Arch sits above the surface on a wide, flat plateau (rock platform), just off the southern end of Darwin Island. This is the only dive site at Darwin Island, but many visitors believe that it is the best dive site in the Galapagos Islands and one of the best dive sites in the world, mainly from June - November when the presence of the Humboldt Current is the strongest. We visit Darwin's arch on our Galapagos diving trips.