Here's a great short documentary video of the Galapagos Islands from National Geographic. It covers both the geography and geology of the archipelago, and the history of Darwin's visit to this part of Ecuador that led to his groundbreaking theory of evolution. There's also good clips of the unique land and underwater animals of the Galapagos island chain, such as the marine iguanas, blue-foot boobies and tortoises.

03/19/09 by visitEarth
Tags: Galapagos, Islands, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Darwin, evolution, National Geographic

 

Great video of a scuba diving trip to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador around Darwin's Arch. Very dramatic music and really well shot, especially given the always difficult diving and visibility challenges in the Galapagos. It starts slow, but halfway through you get to see tons of schooling hammerhead sharks, hanging around a big whale shark and even a manta ray, which I never say during out trip there 6 years ago.

01/27/09 by visitEarth
Tags: Galapagos, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Galapagos scuba, scuba, Galapagos diving, hammerhead sharks, Galapagos hammerheads, whale sharks, Darwin's Arch

 

I really enjoyed this video from University of Minnesota students as they describe the importance of traveling to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, from an academic as well as a life experience. Of course, the Galapagos are iconic for the diversity of animal wildlife, and their catalyst for Darwin's theory of evolution; and these students describe the impact of seeing the island tortoises and finches as it relates to their studies. The excitement and emotion is what makes this video work for me...

01/16/09 by visitEarth
Tags: Galapagos, Islands, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, biology, Darwin, ecology, evolution

 

There is some really interesting Galapagos footage here, albeit rather dark. The opening minute was definitely the best - with Darwin's Arch in the background, you can watch slow-motion video of dolphins flying up out of the water! The rest of the video is typical Galapagos Islands scuba diving with whale sharks, eagle rays, seals and great schooling hammerhead sharks.

01/02/09 by visitEarth
Tags: Galapago, Islands, dolphins, Ecuador, scuba, shark, hammerhead, hammerhead shark, whale shark, eagle ray

 

Here's an interesting documentary-style look at the status of the Amazon Rainforest around Brazil. Although the past year has been an improvement in terms of preserving the rainforest, there's still a long way to go to properly minimize the amount of logging and deforestation and maintain the ecosystem. Definitely worth a watch...

12/30/08 by visitEarth
Tags: Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Brasil, rainforest, deforestation, logging