Pinzón Island

Pinzón Island
(Duncan Island)

Pinzón Island
Geography
Location	Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Coordinates	0°36′37″S 90°39′58″W / 0.610236°S 90.666234°W / -0.610236; -90.666234
Archipelago	Galápagos Islands
Highest elevation	458 m (1503 ft)
Administration
Ecuador

Pinzón or Pinzon Island (Spanish: Isla Pinzón) is an island in Ecuador's Galápagos Archipelago. It has no permanent population, an area of 18 square kilometers (6.9 sq mi), and a maximum elevation of 458 meters (1,503 ft). Home to giant Galápagos tortoises of the subspecies Chelonoidis duncanensis and Galápagos sea lions, the island has no visitor facilities and a permit is required for legal visits.

The Spanish name Pinzón honors the brothers Martín Alonso and Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, who served as the captains of the Pinta and Niña on Christopher Columbus's first voyage. Pinta Island is named after the ship itself.

The English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley charted the island as Dean's Island in honor of Samuel Pepys's protegé Anthony Deane. It was later written Deane Island before the British captain James Colnett renamed it Duncan Island in 1794 after Admiral Adam Duncan, later created 1st Viscount Duncan after his victory over the Dutch at Camperdown in 1797.

Pinzón is part of the Galápagos Islands.^[1] It has an area of 18 square kilometers (6.9 sq mi), and a maximum elevation of 458 meters (1,503 ft).^{[citation needed]}

Pinzón marks the geographical center of the Galápagos Islands, but neither of the two main Galápagos tree species are present. A unique species of daisy tree is found in the humid zone.

During January 2012, invasive rodents were removed from the island by The Galápagos National Park, assisted by Island Conservation to benefit the Pinzón giant tortoise.^[2] An infestation of non-native rats began in the mid 18th century with the arrival of European sailors. The rats devastated the tortoise population by eating their eggs and young hatchlings that were too small to defend themselves. In December 2014, after 100 years the first new generation of tortoise hatchlings were spotted on Pinzón.^[3][4][5][6]