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The Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) is marked by systematic changes in axial morphology between the Inca Fracture Zone (FZ) at 85.5°W and the 95.5°W propagator. We analyze these changes using new swath bathymetry and magnetic data acquired aboard the B/O Hespérides during the Galápagos'96 experiment. Within ∼350 km of the Galápagos hotspot the ridge axis is associated with an East Pacific Rise (EPR)‐like axial high. At increasing distance from the hotspot the axial high broadens and deepens forming a distinctive transitional axial morphology (TAM). The axis in this transitional region is typically a broad zone (∼20 km wide) consisting of very rough volcanic and fault‐generated topography. West of 95°W, this TAM evolves into a 20–40 km wide, 400–1500 m deep axial valley typical of the slow spreading Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (MAR). There is not an abrupt change from axial high to rift valley along …