The Galápagos Islands are the second largest marine reserve on the planet. They were declared a World Heritage Site in 1978 by UNESCO.

The Galápagos are known for their numerous endemic species and for Charles Darwin's studies that led him to establish his theory of evolution by natural selection. They are known to tourists as the Enchanted Islands, a name the archipelago earned in the 16th century for its peculiar biodiversity of flora and fauna.

The region was the habitat of Lonesome George. The last specimen of the giant Pinta tortoise species, which became extinct on June 24, 2012. The islands are also home to species such as sea turtles, dolphins, sharks, hammerhead sharks, whales, coral reefs, frigatebirds, iguanas, lizards, cormorants, albatrosses, sea lions, and penguins. Like the mainland of Ecuador, the archipelago is crossed by the equator, mostly north of Isabela Island. Galápagos is the second archipelago with the highest volcanic activity on the planet, surpassed only by Hawaii. It falls under the category of hot spots; the most active volcanoes are Cerro Azul, Sierra Negra, Marchena, and La Cumbre volcano on Fernandina Island, which is the most active in the archipelago and one of the most active in the world.