Abstract
The Galápagos Islands have long served as an example of, and apologetic for, evolution. In this review, I summarize and evaluate the history, geology, climate, and biology of the Galápagos from a creationist perspective. I find that the relationship of Darwin's intellectual development to the islands has been overstated. Darwin's visit to the Galápagos was an important factor in his acceptance of species transmutation but not in his development of natural selection. Geologically, the islands are both simple and complex. They are simple in that they are all remnants of basaltic hotspot volcanoes. The Galápagos is complex in that the tectonic history of the region and the source of the hotspot magma remain controversial. I conclude that the extant islands are entirely post-Flood. The climate of the islands is dry, but irregularly devastated by recurring El Niños. Due to a lack of comprehensive chronological tools for creationist researchers, it is difficult to evaluate evidence of past climate. I make an argument that rainfall in the Galápagos was consistently higher during the post-Flood ice advance. The biological sections address baraminological status of ten different organismal groups found in the islands: the giant tortoises, iguanids (including the iguanas and lava lizards), weevils, Darwin's finches, pelecaniforms (including the flightless cormorant), the Galápagos penguin, the Galápagos hawk, endemic composites (Scalesia, Darwiniothamnus, and Lecocarpus), Opuntia cacti, and Mollugo. Aside from the ongoing studies of Darwin's finches, I find little evidence for natural selection. Instead, the marine iguanas, giant tortoises, penguins, and flightless cormorants exhibit signs of pre-adaptation. Even variation and selection in the finches has not produced new species. My primary conclusion is that the Galápagos offers numerous opportunities to field test creationist theories, and rather than being good examples of evolution, the biology and geology of the islands are consistent with a young-earth creationist model of earth and life history.
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