Geology and Plant Life
The geology of the islands and plant life are also fascinating. The islands are all volcanic, but some are uplifted and some are volcanic cones, formed over a series of millions of years. They are young island, the oldest being only about 5 million years old. Although they sit on the equator, the cold Humboldt current, coming up from Antarctica, keeps the climate mild and quite arid. The youngness of the islands means that relatively little soil has been formed, so plants tend to be small. There is a wide variety of cactus on the islands because they are, for the most part, very arid.
Plants
