Darwin’s Arch, famed Galapagos Islands rock formation, collapses

The formation is considered a premier diving location
Only the two stone supporting columns remain

19 May, 2021

The formation, which is found in the northern part of the archipelago and named after the famous English biologist Charles Darwin. Photo: AP

Darwin’s Arch, a famed natural rock formation in the Galapagos Islands that is popular with divers, photographers and cruise-ship tourists, has collapsed from erosion, Ecuadorean environmental officials said.

Photographs posted on social media by Ecuador’s Environment Ministry showed rubble from the curvature of the arch visible in the ocean, with the two supporting columns still standing.

“We report that the iconic Arc of Darwin collapsed,” the ministry wrote in Spanish on its Facebook page.

Only the two stone supporting columns remain. Photo: AP


The arch, named for British naturalist Charles Darwin, stands at the northernmost tip of the Galapagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean 965km (600 miles) west of Ecuador.

Once a part of Darwin’s Island, the arch is famed for the variety of underwater life teeming nearby, including schools of hammerhead sharks.

Tourists are not allowed to set foot on the arch or island.

“Obviously all the people from the Galapagos felt nostalgic because it’s something we’re familiar with since childhood, and to know that it has changed was a bit of a shock,” said Washington Tapia, director of conservation at Galapagos Conservancy. “However, from a scientific point of view, it’s part of the natural process. The fall is surely due to exogenous processes such as weathering and erosion which are things that normally happen on our planet.”

Additional reporting by Associated Press