Physical Geography
Ecuador is a country in South America.Two roughly parallel ranges of the Andes Mountains run north and south through Ecuador. These two ranges, frequently called the Avenue of Volcanoes, have more than 20 active volcanoes. Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the world, rises 19,347 feet (5,897 m) above sea level. Even higher is Chimborazo, a dormant volcano that reaches 20,702 feet (6,310 m).
The country divides into three natural regions. The Costa is the fertile tropical coastal plain west of the Andes. The Sierra is the Andean region of high mountains, valleys, and basins. About half of Ecuador's people live in this mountainous section. The Oriente region is an almost uninhabited jungle lowland east of the Andes.
Among the largest rivers flowing from the Andes to the Pacific are the Guayas-Daule and the Esmeraldas. Those flowing eastward through the Oriente to the Amazon River include the Napo, Pastaza, and Santiago. If properly harnessed, these and other rivers could help solve Ecuador's power shortage by supplying large amounts of electricity.
Although equatorial in location, Ecuador has a climate that ranges from tropical to cold, depending on elevation. It is tropical in the lowlands of the Costa and Oriente, but varies from temperate to cold in the mountains. Quito, at an elevation of 9,350 feet (2,850 m), has a year-round average temperature of about 59° F. (15° C.). Guayaquil, on the coast, has an average temperature of about 78° F. (26° C.). Rainfall is heavy throughout the year in the Oriente and along some parts of the coast; other parts of the coast have only limited rainfall. Most of the rest of the country has marked wet and dry seasons. High mountain peaks are snowcapped during the entire year.
Llamas, monkeys, pumas, wildcats, bears, tapirs, deer, and alligators live in the temperate and tropical sections. Birds include the condor, which appears on the Ecuadoran national seal, herons, flamingos, hummingbirds, and ibises. Many species of plants and animals on the Galápagos Islands are found nowhere else in the world.
