Galapagos Islands Conveyor Belt

http://www.galapagosisland.net/galapagos_islands/map.html

I just learned what drives the great diversity among the dozen Galapagos Islands - thanks to the BBC documentary "Galapagos" and the book "Galapagos: Preserving Darwin's Legacy."

The islands are created by a "hot spot" in the earths crust that sits just to the northwest of the islands.  As well, a major tectonic plate slowly moves the islands towards the southeast.  So, the islands are on a geological convey belt that pulls the islands born from the volcanos at the "hot spot" to the southeast.  As this occurs the islands cool and become more inhabitable.  The high volcanic terrain is the key to the productivity of the islands.  The mountains are high enough to produce rain clouds and the soil created by the eroded volcanic rock is nutrient rich, creating the perfect environment for life to flourish.

As the islands age, however, they become flatter and move further away from the "hot spot."  They essentially die and are returned to the ocean!  This is fascinating! The life cycle of island.  The incredibly slow birth, life and death happens over millions of years and is the perfect process to encourage the evolution of a diverse range of unique species.

Newest - Fernandina - hot, mostly volcanic rock, active volcanos
Young - Isabela - some hot spots and volcanic activity, greater vegetation
Older - Santa Cruz, Floreana - cold, no active volcanos, lush vegetation
Dying - Espanola - flat, rocky