Wolf Island, Galapagos

Wolf Island, also known as Wenman, was named after the German geologist Theodor Wolf. It has an area of only half a square mile yet rises up to 830 feet above the waves. Like its neighbor, Darwin, Wolf is located about 100 miles northwest of Isabela Island on the so-called Wolf-Darwin volcanic ridge.

Wolf and Darwin are the most remote islands in the Galapagos. Their isolation and rugged cliffs mean humans first set foot on Wolf only in 1964, and with the aid of a helicopter. Wolf is all that remains of the top of a huge extinct volcano that rises over 3,200ft from the seabed below.

Wolf is most famous for its marine life, and the dive sites here are ranked among the best in the world and are noted for the presence of a large school of hammerhead sharks. Whales, dolphins and whale sharks are also frequent visitors.

Despite the isolation of Wolf, there are plenty of terrestrial inhabitants, including seals, frigatebirds, boobies, and marine iguanas. However, the most famous resident of Wolf is the appropriately named Vampire Finch. Found nowhere else, this bird feeds on the blood of the local boobies.