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I The voyage of the Beagle (1831-36)

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The map on the right shows the complete voyage
I the Beagle. In December 1831 the Beagle left
the British Isles and sailed to South America
arriving in February 1832. Most of Darwin's
work was done during the next three and
*7 'JL a half years as the ship followed the coast
of South America and headed west to the
w /
Galapagos Islands. The Beagle then crossed
the Pacific to Tahiti and stopped briefly in
New Zealand and Australia before sailing
/© The Beagle
to St. Helena and back to South America.
From there the course was set for home.
reaches South
S.America and
follows (he
Darwin's tools
/ coastline
southward.
Darwin used these
geologists' hammers to
chip fossils from the
rocks in South America ;

Explosions and tremors

Mylodon darvAni While explonng the Andes Mountains.
Darwin found the fossilized Darwin came very close to an erupting
bones of this extinct giant sloth volcano. He also found seashells high in
in the rocks above Punta Alta. This the mountains. This puzzled him until
discovery was very important to him he realized that land is raised from the
as it helped prove his theory that sea and then ground down again by the
animals had gradually changed over weather. Later, on the island of Chiloe.
the years to suit their environment. he felt the tremors of an earthquake He
It also caused great excitement in described this new experience in his
England. Europeans had no idea that diary: it "made me almost giddy "
He
such huge prehistoric creatures had noticed that after the earthquake, parts
existed in South America. It is now of the coast had been raised above sea
«**" known as the Mylodon darmm. level bv six to ten feet

Galapagos Islands
The unique wildlife of the Galapagos Islands is a result of
their isolated position, 600 miles off the coast of South
America. The islands are named after the giant tortoises
found there (Galapago means "giant tortoise " in Spanish).

The Galapagos Islands (left) were

lormed by the eruption of volcanoes
below sea level. The landscape is dark
with low cliffs and black boulders.
Giant tortoise
Darwin spends a rs from the Bcagk often
/ The Beagta
week on San Sdlvadoi capture
tried
lood
am ho Sea gull th<.
studying wild!
hahia.
Taking note
SAN Darwin worked very hard during the
SALVADOR of the Beagle The ship
'V nicknamed him "the Old Philosopher
."

orded all his a

detail in ihl On his return
home he used them to write h
of tht and his notes laid I

groundwoi -:ud\ on

formed th on
ri\/o\ evolution, which he began in

Hie Beagle reaches s \\

bed, CR I ST OB \ I

^V M.,r.Tu-
Sep! 16, It

iguana The at*

ashore and
see 2 giant

SANTA CRUZ S \\ I \ II
lortoii
I.I.UII

Green
@
sea tunic

^-^ "x
SANTA
-^^ '
^ Evidence of evolution
These Galapagos finches helped
N MARIA
<^k ' prove Darwin's theory ol evolution He

jJP^"' / noticed that the finches ol each island had

The Beagle aru hois N / adapted to suit their habitat, and that
,n Santa Mai la, where ^^ —' therefore they all differed slightly Buds with
Darwin collects man.) powerful beaks had survived on an island where the
and animals.
plants hiel lood was shellfish; bud- with long thin beaks
.

20 Mil.-, survived where the food was insects living in tree bark