Ecuador's president declares emergency over Galapagos oil-spill threat

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Oil makes landfall

Named for giant tortoise

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PUERTO BAQUERIZO, Galapagos Islands (CNN) -- With a spreading oil slick threatening some of the world's rarest birds and sea animals, Ecuador's government declared a state of emergency late Monday.

Ecuadorian President Gustavo Noboa appealed for international aid to clean up oil that hemorrhaged from a tanker that went aground last week.

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In what year did the Galapagos become a national park? A. 1911 B. 1935 C. 1959

A U.S. Coast Guard team was on the scene Monday attempting to pump the remaining oil off the crippled tanker before the spill causes more damage to the nature reserve.

"Our goal is to take away any further threat," said Tod Lyons of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Oil makes landfall

By afternoon, however, scientists said the oil had made landfall at two islands -- Santa Fe and San Cristobal. Santa Fe is a small island 37 miles (59.2 kilometers) west of San Cristobal famed for the Santa Fe land iguana -- a species found nowhere else.

It was not clear yet how much damage the two areas had suffered, according to Robert Pavida, chief of the hazardous materials response division with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

The tanker Jessica ran aground last week and began leaking oil Friday off the world-famous islands, where Charles Darwin devised his theory of evolution. The ship was carrying 160,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 80,000 gallons of petroleum product, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Authorities said the ship, listing at a 45 degree angle in a bay off San Cristobal, was in danger of breaking up and sinking.

The Ecuadorian minister of environment, Rodolfo Rendon, surveyed the damage on the islands Monday and said only about 15,000 to 20,000 gallons of fuel remained on board the ship.

Rendon told CNN that numerous animals had already been caught in the spill by late Sunday.

"It is a very serious environmental problem that we have here," he said.

Rendon said surf pounding the tanker has opened new fissures in its hull, speeding the rate of the leak.

"The bottom line is, once (it) gets out of a ship it's virtually impossible to remove it or contain it on the ocean," U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Edwin Stanton said.

The tanker had been en route to service an Ecuadorian naval operation and a private tour boat operator when it ran aground.

Named for giant tortoise

The Galapagos Islands are home to a variety of unique plant and animal species, including the giant tortoise, for which the island chain was named.

The Charles Darwin Research Center and the national park service are handling the environmental impact of the spill.

Fernando Espinoza, who heads the research center, said the oil, now broken up into patches, had extended more than 1,800 square miles (2,000 square kilometers).

He said the current was pushing the oil toward the southern part of Santa Cruz, the chain's most populated island.

Espinoza said four sea lions and about 25 birds have been rescued and cleaned. Four endangered species of birds were threatened by the spill, he said.

In 1959, 97 percent of the land area of the islands was declared a national park by Ecuador.

Galapagos Archipelage, as it is formally known, lies about 600 miles (960 kilometers) off the west coast of Ecuador. There are 60 named islands, the principals being Fernandina, Isabela, Baltra, James, Santa Cruz and San Cristobal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.