[2][3] In July 2016, the Revillagigedo Archipelago was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,[4] and in November 2017 they were declared to be a marine reserve and a national park of Mexico.

Travelling to the islands from their nearest land point takes approximately 26 to 30 hours, as they are typically reached by sea; a small military airstrip exists on Socorro.

The islands are named after Don Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, the 53rd viceroy of New Spain.

Hernando de Grijalva and his crew discovered an uninhabited island on 19 December 1533, and named it Santo Tomás (Socorro Island) and on 28 December they discovered Isla de los Inocentes (San Benedicto) which owed its name to having been found on the day of the Holy Innocents.

[8][9] In November 1542, Ruy López de Villalobos, while exploring new routes across the Pacific, rediscovered Inocentes and Santo Tomás and charted the latter as Anublada ("Cloudy").

The Revillagigedo Islands have been visited by a number of other explorers: Domingo del Castillo (1541), Miguel Pinto (1772), Alexander von Humboldt (1811), Benjamin Morrell (1825), Sir Edward Belcher (1839) who made the first botanical collections and Reeve, who witnessed the eruption of Mount Evermann in 1848.

[10] On 25 July 1861, President Benito Juárez signed a decree awarding territorial control over the four islands to the state of Colima.

The seas surrounding the larger islands are popular with scuba divers; a variety of marine life such as cetaceans, sharks and manta rays can be observed.

Visitors usually stay aboard expedition vessels during their visit to the islands, which is desirable from an ecological standpoint to prevent introduction of further invasive species.

The islands are considered dangerous to visit for purposes beyond diving since it is difficult to make a landing; some have nearly lost their lives attempting to do so on Clarion for example.

[13] On 24 November 2017, President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto created North America's largest marine protected area around the Revillagigedo Islands.

Oceanographic Magazine stated in 2020 that, "Its remoteness, protection and peculiar oceanography makes it one of the most biodiverse and exciting marine destinations on earth.

"[14] The islands are mostly covered with tropical dry forest, with several distinct plant communities that vary with elevation, soils, and exposure.

Bahia Azufre (Sulfur Bay) on Clarión seems to be a favorite stopover location, as it is one of the few longer stretches of beach in the islands; mostly, the shoreline is steep cliffs.

[13] Most if not all native plants found on San Benedicto today are shared with Clarión, but not with the closer Socorro to the south, due to the prevailing winds and ocean currents.

[22] As opposed to the interchange between the islands, the animals and plants that colonized them initially are apparently all from mainland populations generally to the northeastward of the Revillagigedos.

The ancestors of the islands' terrestrial birds probably came from the general area of southern North and northern Central America.

[13] The archipelago has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International for its breeding seabirds and endemic landbirds.

socorrensis, Peperomia socorronis, Muhlenbergia solisii, Paspalum longum, Guettarda insularis, Meliosma nesites, Cestrum pacificum, Physalis mimulus, Citharexylum danirae, and Verbena sphaerocarpa are endemic to Socorro.

Brattstrom and Howell who gave the optimistic outlook in 1956 went on to caution: "it may be hoped that the Mexican government will guard against the introduction of mammals such as rabbits, cats, goats and others that have invariably brought disaster to the flora and fauna of insular regions.

[27] Marine protected areas have been shown to positively contribute to ocean diversity, improve nearby fishing locations, and combat climate change.