One of the most famous rock formations in the world, and an iconic dive site for divers in search of the big stuff, has recently collapsed, only two pillars remaining. The unfortunate event took place in the morning of May 17, 2021. Divers onboard the Galápagos Aggressor III got to witness this historical event, but as of now, there’s no information on the effects of the collapse on the dive site.
Dubbed by many as the best dive site in the whole Galapagos archipelago, Darwin’s Arch is renowned for being home to large pelagics such as whale sharks, Galápagos sharks, silky sharks, and hammerheads, among others.
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment and Water took to its social networking platforms to report the sad news. The ministry is stating that the collapse is a consequence of natural erosion, the same geological process which helped form the arch in the first place.
Informamos que hoy 17 de mayo, se reportó el colapso del Arco de Darwin, el atractivo puente natural ubicado a menos de un kilómetro de la isla principal Darwin, la más norte del archipiélago de #Galápagos. Este suceso sería consecuencia de la erosión natural.
📷Héctor Barrera pic.twitter.com/lBZJWNbgHg
— Ministerio del Ambiente y Agua de Ecuador (@Ambiente_Ec) May 17, 2021
The rock formation was named after naturalist Charles Darwin, whose studies of the Galápagos Islands contributed to the theory of evolutions. As a result, people in the travel business have already re-named what’s left of Darwin’s Arch as ‘The Pillars of Evolution’ while others call the remaining parts ‘The Columns of Darwin.’