Galapagos Islands, Spanish Islas Galápagos, officially Archipiélago de Colón (“Columbus Archipelago”), island group of the eastern Pacific Ocean, administratively a province of Ecuador. The government of Ecuador designated part of the Galapagos a wildlife sanctuary in 1935, and in 1959 the sanctuary became the Galapagos National Park. In 1978 the islands were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, and in 1986 the Galapagos Marine Resources Reserve was created to protect the surrounding waters.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica