Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island

The most populous and second largest island in the Galápagos Archipelago of Ecuador is Santa Cruz Island, also known as the Indefatigable Island. Santa Cruz is located in the center of the group. It is a shield volcano with an area of 986 km2 and a maximum altitude of 864 meters. The canton of Santa Cruz has its seat in Puerto Ayora. The total population of the island is about 18,000, and the inhabitants of the small villages are mostly farmers and ranchers. At the summit of the island is a shallow caldera, largely buried by young pit craters and well-preserved craters with cinder cones. The last eruptions, when sparse lava flows poured from openings in the north flank and along the summit fissure, may have occurred only a few thousand years ago. The island's tourist attraction is a gigantic lava tube more than 2000 meters long. According to the volcanic past, there are two large holes formed by the collapse of a magma chamber, known as The Twins or Los Gemelos. Tortuga Bay is located near Puerto Ayora, where you can see marine iguanas, birds and Galapagos crabs. There is also a mangrove area where Whitetip Reef Sharks and giant Galapagos Tortoises can be seen.