EcuadorGalapagos IslandsIslandUNESCO World Heritage
Isabela Island
4,711 km² rising to 1,707 m out of the Pacific Ocean.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
4,711km²
Area
459km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
1,707m
Highest point
Volcán Wolf
3,000
People
26°C
Warmest sea
March
1,096km
To the mainland
When to go to Isabela Island
Best for the beach from May to July and from November to December.
The sea is warmest in March (26 °C) and coolest in August (22 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
The largest of the Galápagos Islands
Isabela Island is an island in Ecuador. It belongs to Galapagos Islands. It covers 4,711 km², with 459 km of coastline. Its highest point, Volcán Wolf, rises to 1,707 m. About 3,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,096 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
- Seymour Galapagos Ecological Airport (GPS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 91 km in a straight lineCar hire at GYE airport (Guayaquil)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries1 ferry terminals on the island
- 1,096 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From May to July and from November to Decemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Isabela Island.
- 11beachesPlaya Isabela, La Playita, Playa del Amor and 8 more
- 20viewpointsView to the crater of the Sierra Negra Volcano (Altitude: 990m), Mirador Cerro Orchilla, Poza de las Diables and 17 more
- 1lighthouses
- 1ferry terminals
- 1named peaksCerro Cartago
- 11volcanoesVolcán Wolf, Volcán Cerro Azul, Volcán Sierra Negra and 8 more
- 3ruins and archaeological sitesUS Army Radar Station
- 7dive centresGalaisa Adventure Travel Agency, Isabela Dive Center, Galapagos GPS Diving Center and 4 more
- 1campsitesCamp Duro
- 65hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 73restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Isabela Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Isabela Island, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
26.5°C
Caleta Negra
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Caleta Telarañacove26.1°C
- Caleta Webbcove26.1°C
- Caleta Negracove26.5°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 305 m above the sea. 53 % of it is below 200 m.
- 27 %0–50 m
- 26 %50–200 m
- 23 %200–500 m
- 18 %500–1,000 m
- 5 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Puerto Villamil2,200 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 |
| Night low (°C) | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Sea (°C) | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 |
| Rain (mm) | 33 | 53 | 48 | 48 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| Wet days | 8 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Sun h/day | 6.9 | 7.6 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.6 | 8.0 | 6.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 15 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +1.3 | −0.1 | −1.3 | −1.7 | −1.2 | −1.1 | −0.7 | −0.1 | −0.8 |
| 2021 | −0.7 | −0.4 | +0.2 | −1.4 | −0.3 | +0.5 | +0.7 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −1.3 | −2.7 |
| 2022 | −1.5 | −1.6 | +0.2 | −1.1 | −1.8 | −1.4 | −0.2 | +0.3 | −1.2 | −2.6 | −1.6 | −1.4 |
| 2023 | −1.2 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +2.8 | +3.5 | +3.4 | +2.2 | +2.2 | +2.6 | +1.9 |
| 2024 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.0 | −0.4 | −1.5 | −1.5 | −0.8 | −1.0 | −0.6 | −0.2 | +0.8 | −1.3 |
| 2025 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +1.6 | +0.9 | −0.5 | +0.5 | +0.2 | −0.5 | −1.6 | −0.9 | −1.6 | −1.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Santa Cruz IslandEcuador988 km²864 m75 km away
Pinzón IslandEcuador18 km²458 m43 km away
Santiago IslandEcuador579 km²920 m67 km away
Fernandina IslandEcuador646 km²1,476 m73 km awayRábida IslandEcuador5.0 km²367 m52 km away
Floreana IslandEcuador173 km²444 m89 km away
Bartolomé IslandEcuador1.3 km²67 m75 km away
Baltra IslandEcuador25 km²37 m91 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q83639) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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