Floreana or Santa Maria Island is the sixth biggest island of the Galapagos. It is roughly rectangular, with sides about 10 x 7 miles long. The highest point is 2,100 feet. Its land area is 67 square miles. It is comprised a single volcano, which is inactive, probably extinct. The official name of Santa Maria comes from one of Columbus' ships but most people call it Floreana after President Juan José Flores of Ecuador. Previously the English had called it Charles in honor of King Charles II.
Because it has a small spring that bubbles from underground (and occasionally dries up) it was a haven for pirates and whalers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Hence its wildlife has suffered from competition with introduced animals, notably goats. Its subspecies of giant tortoises is now extinct due to the pirates and whalers who, scientists estimate, removed 15,000 tortoises for their meat. The early visitors also introduced rats that eat the eggs and hatchlings and so added to the demise of the tortoises. By 1840 the tortoises were gone. Several species of plants are unique to Floreana but are threatened by wild goats. For shelter, pirates carved a marvelous complex of caves and tunnels in the soft volcanic rock. Visitors to Floreana can visit the caves and get a feel for a time lost in history. The island has been continuously inhabited since the mid-1800s, and was the first of the Galapagos Islands to support a permanent human population.
The island acquired a degree of notoriety for what is called the "Floreana mystery." Too lengthy to detail here, this fascinating story is a tale encompassing the gamut of human emotions and frailties love, hate, hope, despair, murder and betrayal. In 1929 a German couple set up a homestead and their story was popularized, attracting other settlers. Friction among the various parties grew to the point where a handful of the participants died mysterious deaths that remain unexplained to this day, although theories abound. The story is recounted by John Treherne in A Galapagos Affair, while an insider account is given by Margret Wittmer in Floreana. The Wittmer family is there to this day and they run a small shop on Black Beach. One of the sons owns a successful tour business out of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz.
Floreana
Visitor Sites
Flour Beach
Black Beach
Pirate Caves
Post Office Bay
Punta Cormoran
