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Atlas/americas-caribbean/Deep field file

Signal verified · updated 2026-09-03

Floreana (Galapagos)

The Galapagos' southern inhabited island of ~140 residents; famed for the 1793 Post Office Bay barrel, flamingo lagoons, and the eccentric 1930s settler sagas — now a flagship of tortoise and mockingbird restoration.

1.283° S90.433° W
site access marine
San Cristobal Airport (SCY); Seymour Airport Baltra (GPS) as alternative
Post Office Bay barrel
Devil's Crown
Cormorant Point flamingo lagoon
Formation
volcanic shield island; tuff cones and lagoons (e.g. Cormorant Point) along the coast
Population
140
Water
Pacific Ocean
Access
moderate

Every required movement

The passage
to Floreana (Galapagos).

Fly Quito/Guayaquil to Baltra (GPS) or San Cristobal (SCY) with LATAM or Avianca, then inter-island speedboat/day-tour boats to Puerto Velasco Ibarra; Galapagos transit control card and park fee required.

  1. 01
    San Cristobal Airport (SCY); Seymour Airport Baltra (GPS) as alternative

    Nearest recorded air access

    Schedule or condition may change · verify
  2. 02
    Water crossing

    Daily speedboats from Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz) and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristobal); licensed day-tour boats.

    Schedule or condition may change · verify
  3. 03
    Entry check

    Ecuador entry rules plus Galapagos transit control card (TCT) and national park entry fee; guide required at visitor sites.

    Schedule or condition may change · verify

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What the chart cannot hold

What becomes visible when you follow post office bay barrel (1793) beyond the familiar map?

Floreana (173 km2) was the first Galapagos island settled — Irishman Patrick Watkins in 1807-1809 — and Ecuador's first penal-colony site after annexation in 1832. Today its tiny community lives on farming, fishing and regulated tourism inside a national park and UNESCO site.

Sighted 1535 by Tomas de Berlanga; whalers install the Post Office barrel 1793; first resident Patrick Watkins 1807-1809; Ecuador annexes 1832 and names it for President Flores; penal colony era; Norwegian then German colonists in the 1920s-1930s with famous disappearances; national park 1959; UNESCO 1978.

Field ledger

The useful
details.

Coordinates
1.28° S · 90.43° W
Sovereignty
Ecuador · part of country
Nearest mainland
Ecuador mainland (~1000 km east)
Best recorded window
December-May (warm, calm seas); June-November cooler with garua.
Permits / entry
Ecuador entry rules plus Galapagos transit control card (TCT) and national park entry fee; guide required at visitor sites.
Languages
Spanish

Community intelligence

Notes from
the crossing.

Share firsthand conditions, access changes, respectful observations, or a question for someone who has been.

No traveler has left a public note here yet.

The empty ledger is part of the mystery—and an invitation to be useful.

Travel information changes quickly. This field file was last revised 2026-09-03. Confirm all transport and permit details before booking.

Official source