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Embarkment
Charles Darwin goes aboard the HMS Beagle voyage as the captain's assistant. -
Cape Verde Island
First of Darwin's Observations Darwin thinks about writing a book about the geology of the countries he visiited. -
Crossing the Equator
There was a tradition for when you cross the equator for the first time. It involved being shaving, “baptized" in the ocean (AKA throwing them overboard) or fish guts being spread on the person.
Luckily, Darwin got off lightly. -
Salvador, Brazil
Darwin explores Braazilian forests for the first time. He is captivated with the experience. He found himself unable to choose which aspects were more striking, such as the elegance of the grasses, the originality of the parasitical plants, the beauty of the flower -
Punta Alta, Argentina
Charles Darwin is interested in the giant fossils he sees in Argentina.
He is sure many of the fossils are new. -
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Captain Robert FitzRoy sends three native people he had take to England on a different voyage back to their country. He starts a Christian mission and it failes horrendously. -
Falkland Islands
Darwin finds Falkland Islands desolate and wretched.
He cracks open primitive-looking rocks and finds fossils. Island is full of branchipods (two-shelled animals) -
Rio Negro, Argentina
Darwin explores the Pampas (fertile lowland areas) with the gauchos (local people) of Argentina. -
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Chiloé Island, Chile
Darwin sees Mount Osorno erupt while on Chiloé Island and experiences an earthquake in the woods near Valdivia.
The earthquake aftermath affected Darwin tremendously. -
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Galapagos Islands
Darwin finds many species of plants, birds, and tortoises unique to the Galapagos Islands, but they seem related to the mainland speices.
Many Galapagos animals were as strange as their suroundings.
Darwin was surprised to find that the group of Galapagos specimen he had thought included many different birds were actually all finches. -
Syndey, Australia
Darwin arrives in Sydney Cove Darwin wonders why there is a competely different set of mammals in Australia (marsupials) -
Cocos Islands (Keeling Islands)
Darwin studies coral reefs growing around the Cocos Islands to test his theory of atoll formation. -
Mauritius
Darwin takes a quiet walk along the sea coast. He sees that the plain is mainly uncultivated, consisting of a field of black lava smoothed over with coarse grass and bushes. -
Cape Town, South Africa
Darwin writes about the well known Table Mountain. He states, "...the great mass horizontally stratified sandstone rises quite close behind the town a height of 3,500 feet." -
Bahia and Pernambuco, South America
Darwin discovers many incredible creatures in the jungles of South America.
He is dismayed when the Beagle makes an unscheduled detour to make additional longitude measurements. -
Falmouth, England (Return to Home)
Darwin reaches home 3 years later than intended to. He's filled with so much joy from returning home.
