Discover the Charles Darwin Foundation, established in 1959 to protect the Galapagos Islands' fragile ecosystem. As the oldest and largest science and conservation organization in the archipelago, our Research Station leads efforts to preserve this unique environment through groundbreaking research and conservation milestones.

In 1969, during relentless rains on Santa Fe Island, scientist Tjitte de Vries discovered a small, well-preserved tortoise skull. Taken to the Charles Darwin Research Station, the find intrigued researchers, who believed it might belong to the island’s long-extinct giant tortoise.

The Galapagos Atlas maps 69 endemic, native and invasive species across 309 pages — CDF's reference guide to Galapagos biodiversity.

The new Galápagos Atlas 2026 offers a 309-page look at 68 species and species groups, combining purpose-built distribution maps with something rarely found in a reference guide: a clear record of what scientists still don’t know. Free to explore online, it highlights critical knowledge gaps and invites future research to strengthen conservation.