Bartolomé Island was named after Sir Bartholomew James Sulivan, a friend of Charles Darwin who served as principal surveyor and second-lieutenant aboard the HMS Beagle. Bartolomé is a barren islet in Sullivan Bay to the east of Santiago Island. Bartolomé is home to a distinctive and recognizable site of the archipelago: Pinnacle Rock. Pinnacle Rock, a volcanic cone, was formed when magma was expelled from an underwater volcano; the sea cooled the hot lava, which then exploded, only to come together and form this huge rock made up of many thin layers of basalt. You may recognize Pinnacle Rock from the 2003 movie “Master and Commander.”
The Galapagos Penguins, the second smallest penguin species in the world, have established a small breeding colony in a cave behind Pinnacle Rock. In 1982, these creatures suffered a massive decline during El Niño when the overall population in Galapagos declined from nearly 15,000 to fewer than 500 birds and they have been slow to recover. The most recent cause of concern came in July 2008 when a Plasmodium parasite species was found in Galapagos Penguins. Researchers are worried that this parasite could potentially lead to avian malaria.
This lava is so uncomfortable. Pahoehoe lava is a type of basaltic lava that is smooth and thicker (higher viscosity) than aa lava. In Hawaiian, pahoehoe means smooth, unbroken lava. It creates interesting shapes and natural sculptures across the landscape. As it flows a skin or crust forms on the top layer which then gives way allowing another flow – which forms a skin, and so on.
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