Darwin Island, the northernmost of the Galapagos Archipelago, has seen its landscape change abruptly.
Darwin's Arch, a natural rock formation located less than a kilometer from the coast, collapsed on Monday, Ecuadorian authorities said.
Divers, aboard a nearby boat, witnessed the scene, but none were injured.
Informamos that colapsó el emblemático Arco de Darwin Hoy 17 de mayo de 2021, referó el colapso del Arco de ...
Posted by Ministerio del Ambiente y Agua de Ecuador on Monday, May 17, 2021
If erosion appears to be the cause of the fall, "continuous seismic movements" are recorded in the archipelago and could have played a role, according to the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo.
As photos from the Ministry of the Environment show, the two bases of the arch are still standing.
It is the upper part that has disappeared.
Iconic place
“It was truly an icon of the Galápagos landscape and a marker for one of the most impressive wildlife experiences on the planet,” Jen Jones, member of the NGO Galápagos Conservation Trust, told of the Guardian.
The volcanic archipelago of the Galapagos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is popular with photographers, tourists and divers for its flora and fauna. The partly collapsed arch and the nearby island owe their name to the scientist Charles Darwin, to whom they are said to have inspired the theory of evolution.