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Departure from Plymouth Sound
After being delayed multiple times, the original departure scheduled for the end of September, the HMS Beagle finally departed. -
Period: to
Darwin's Observations
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Reached Tenerife in the Canary Islands
The ship was denied landing, the island was quarantined due to cholera in England -
Plankton Net Deployed
Charles Darwin deployed a plankton net in the second recorded use of this kind of device. He collected a great deal of animals and wrote, "Many of these creatures so low in the scale of nature are most exquistite in their forms and rich colours." -
Landing at Porto Praya on St. Jago Island in the Cape Verde Islands
Journal began. He described the desolate volcanic island. A base was set up on Quail Island. Darwin studied animals, plants, and geology. -
Crossing the Equator
The Beagle passes to the Southern hemisphere -
Landing in Brazil
The Beagle makes anding in Brazil and Darin explores the rainforests. -
Landing in Punta Alta
Darwin sees a giant fossil that he is eager to study. -
Tierra del Fuego
Captain FitzRoy returns three natives he had previously brought to England. He also tries to start a Christian mission, which fails. -
Falkland Islands
Darwin finds many ancient looking rocks and fossils. The Falklands were full of brachiopods. -
Rio Negro
Darwin explores Pampas with the local people (gauchos). -
Chiloé Island
Darwin sees Mount Osomo erupt and experiences the earthquake. -
Galapagos Islands
Darwin finds many species of animals, including tortoises, plants, iguanas, and birds. He studied the beaks of finches and discovered evolutionary differences in their beaks. -
Sydney, Australia
Darwin marvels at marsupials and wonders why a totally different set of mammals is in Australia. -
Cocos Islands
Darwin studies coral reefs and tests his theory of atoll formation. -
Mauritius
Darwin studied the plant life. -
Cape Town, South Africa
Darwin studied the Table Mountain, a horizontally stratified sandstone formation that rises to a height of 3,500 feet. -
Bahia and Pernambuco, South America
Darwin discovers many animals, but is dismayed at the zigzagging pattern of the ship -
Falmouth, England
The HMS Beagle returns to England
