Albemarle Point

About the site

Albemarle Point

Albemarle Point, Punta Albemarle, is the northern tip of Isabela, a remote stretch of lava coast facing the open ocean. Albemarle was the old English name of Isabela, and the point is one of the most pristine and least visited sites of the archipelago, reached only on some northern and western routes.

There is no landing: the visit is made by panga along the shore and through the narrow channels of a small mangrove area. The black pahoehoe lava, smooth and ropy, is home to flightless cormorants, which build their seaweed nests here almost undisturbed, as few boats come this far, and to some of the largest marine iguanas in the Galápagos, fed by the rich cold water of the west. Sea lions, Galápagos fur seals, brown pelicans and lava herons share the rocks.

The point also has a page of history: during the Second World War, the United States built a small radar station here to watch over the Pacific approaches to the Panama Canal, and its ruins can still be seen near the beach.

The sea can be rough at this exposed corner of the island, so the visit depends on conditions. Albemarle Point is usually combined with other sites of northern and western Isabela.

Highlights

• Largest Marine Iguanas
• Flightless Cormorant Colony