Geography

 

Occupying only 104,510 square miles, Ecuador is about the size of Colorado. Its borders embrace scenic mountains, a rugged coastline, sultry rainforests and arid terrain - all within a few hours travel time.  Ecuador, which straddles the equator, can be divided into four geographic/climatic zones.   They are the double-ridged central Andes Mountains and surrounding highlands, the coastal plains and lowlands to the west, the Amazonian tropical rainforest (known as the "Oriente") to the east, and the Galapagos Islands. 

The fertile area between the two ridges of the Andes is called the Central Valley or the "Avenue of the Volcanoes," where 30 volcanic peaks loom over the basin.  The valley houses farm fields, small towns and larger urban sections, in­cluding Quito, the charming capital city chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its architectural beauty.  At 9,300 feet above sea level, Quito is the second highest national capital in the world after La Paz, Bolivia.

The northern coastline of Ecuador harbors remnants of dense, virgin rainforest.  Southward towards the Peruvian border, there is little precipitation and the landscape quickly changes to the arid Sechura Desert, which leads south to the great Atacama Desert of Chile – the driest desert in the world.  The nation's largest city and leading port, Guayaquil, is ideally positioned in the middle of this coastal strip, and sits at the mouth of the rich delta of the Guayas River.  As the rainforests of the eastern Andes descend, they meet the Amazon River Basin.

DID YOU KNOW?
Pirates used the Galapagos Islands as a refuge from 1593-1710.