Darwin 2009: Spot Image produces a mosaic of the Galapagos Islands,
a key source for the theory of natural selection.

 
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of English naturalist Charles Darwin (on 12 February 1809) and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his work On the Origin of Species (on 24 November 1859).

To commemorate this event, Spot Image has produced a mosaic of the Galapagos Islands where Charles Darwin made observations on which he later based his theory of natural selection.

• View the .kmz file of the SPOT 5 mosaic of the Galapagos archipelago.
  
  To obtain a poster of the Galapagos, go to http://gallery.spotimage.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_8&products_id=1695 or http://gallery.spotimage.com/product_info.php?products_id=1178.
   
• View the high-definition .kmz file of a volcano on the island of Isabela
   
  To acquire a SpotMap of the Galapagos, go to http://spotmaps.spotimage.com
  
  
   

From 1831 to 1836, Darwin went on a voyage of scientific exploration on HMS Beagle, which reached the Galapagos Islands in September 1835. 
 
Darwin found ten plant species there, very few insects and remarkable endemic wildlife, notably giant turtles with different traits according to the islands where he observed them. 
 
From his observations Darwin later constructed his theory of natural selection - still the most widely accepted logical and unified explanation today for life’s amazing diversity. 

 

The Galapagos mosaic was generated from 13 SPOT 5 scenes at a resolution of 2.5 metres, using Pixel Factory to blend colours and landscapes across the coverage area.