Geography

Ecuador is a country in Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator (for which the country is named), between Colombia and Peru. Ecuador is one of the smaller countries in South America (280,000 square kilometres), just slightly larger than the United Kingdome. The country encompasses a wide range of natural formations and climates, from the desert like southern coast to the snow-capped peaks of the Andes Mountains to the plains of the Amazon River Basin.

Ecuador is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Colombia, and on the east and south by Peru. Ecuador continues to contest the boundary with Peru, which was established by the Protocol of Peace, Friendship and Boundaries (Rio Protocol) of 1942 and ceded to Peru a large portion of territory east of the Andes.

Ecuador's capital is Quito, and is located in the province of Pichincha in the Sierra region. Its largest city is Guayaquil, located in the province of Guayas in the Coast. Cotopaxi, which is located just south of Quito, in the neighbouring province of that same name, is one of the world's highest active volcanoes. Mount Chimborazo (6,310 metres) is considered by some to be the most distant point from the centre of the Earth, given the ovoidal shape of the Earth, which is widest at the equator.

Geographical Regions

Ecuador is divided into three continental regions: the Costa, Sierra, and Oriente - and one insular region: the Galápagos Islands. The continental regions extend the length of the country from north to south and are separated by the Andes Mountains. The Galápagos Islands, officially called the Archipiélago de Colón, are located 1,000 kilometres west of the Ecuadorian coast within 1 south of the equator.

La Costa (The Coast)

The western coastal area of Ecuador, bordering the Pacific Ocean, rises from the coastal plain to the foothills of the Andes Mountains to the east. The coastal plains contain mangroves, whilst the foothills have banana, cacao and coffee plantations. Guayaquil, located on the southern part of the coast is the biggest city of the country, with some beautiful beaches and an ocean port. In the north coast of Ecuador, the port of Balao in Esmeraldas is used for oil export and the port of Manta is used by the United States Air Force as a control point for narcotics traffic control.

El Oriente (The East)

Much of the Oriente is tropical moist broadleaf forest (Spanish: la selva), on the east slopes of the Andes Mountains and descending into the Amazon Basin, with strikingly different upland rainforest with steep, rugged ridges and cascading streams (especially around Puyo) and lowland rainforest.

The oil fields are located in the Amazon basin, headquartered at Lago Agrio; some of the rainforest has been seriously damaged in this region and environmental degradation is severe, with catastrophic oil pollution in some areas. Some 38% of Ecuador's land is forested, and despite a 1.5% annual deforestation rate remains one of the most biodiverse locations on the planet. The Oriente is also home to a large number of Ecuador's indigenous groups, notably the lowland Quechua, Siona, Secoya, Huaorani, and Cofán.

La Sierra (The Highlands)

The central belt of Ecuador includes the high Andes Mountains inland from the coast. The area has volcanoes and mountain peaks that sport year-round snow despite their location on the equator. Many areas have long since been deforested by agriculture, including a number of cut-flower growing operations.

The northern Ecuadorian Andes are divided into three parallel cordilleras that run in an S shape from north to south: the western, central (Cordilerra Real) and eastern (Cordillera Occidental) cordilleras. The cordilleras were formed earlier in the Cenozoic era (the current geological era), as the Nazca Plate has subducted underneath the South American Plate and has raised the mountain range. In the south, the cordilleras are not well defined.

Quito, the capital city, is located in a high mountain valley on the foothills of the Pichincha. The town of Baños features hot springs swimming pools on the foothills of the Tungurahua in the Central Cordillera. The road from Baños to Puyo has long been known for its narrowness, curves and sheer drops (only one lane in some places, in one area, actually cut into the side of a cliff so that the cliff roofs over it). The most important east-west road across the Andes is the road from Quito to Lago Agrio, which is unpaved for most of its length yet is heavily travelled by tractor-trailers. The Trans-Ecuadorian Oil Pipeline actually serves as the guardrail for long stretches of this road.

Galápagos Islands

An island archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 km west of the mainland; famed for the studies by Charles Darwin that led to his theory of natural selection as a means of evolution.

Facts and Figures

• Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
• Geographic Coordinates: 2 00 S, 77 30 W
• Area:
  Note: includes Galapagos Islands
  • Total: 283,560 sq km
  • Land: 276,840 sq km
  • Water: 6,720 sq km
• Land Boundaries: total: 2,010 km
• Border Countries:
  • Colombia 590 km
  • Peru 1,420 km
• Coastline: 2,237 km
• Maritime Claims:
  • Territorial sea: 200 nm
  • Continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 metre isobath
• Climate: tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
• Terrain: coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
• Elevation Extremes:
  • Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  • Highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m
• Natural Resources:
  • Petroleum
  • Fish
  • Timber
  • Hydropower
• Land Use:
  • Arable land: 5.71%
  • Permanent crops: 4.81%
  • Other: 89.48%
• Irrigated Land: 8,650 sq km
• Natural Hazards:
  • Frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity
  • Floods
  • Periodic droughts
• Environmental Issues:
  • Deforestation
  • Soil erosion
  • Desertification
  • Water pollution
  • Pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands