The Galapagos Islands, located on the western coast of South America, was first discovered in 1535, by accident, when a sailor happened to pass by it while sailing from Panama to Peru. The Galapagos Islands, meaning "Islands of the Tortoises" was named after the large variety of tortoises.
"I have not as yet noticed by far the most remarkable feature in the natural history of this archipelago; it is, that the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings. My attention was first called to this fact by the Vice-Governor, Mr. Lawson, declaring that the tortoises differed from the different islands, and that he could with certainty tell from which island any one was brought." -Charles Darwin