The Republic of Ecuador
Presidential Palace in Quito.
Ecuador facts
- The total population of Ecuador is estimated at 15,223,680 +
- Area: about the size of the State of Colorado
- Languages: Spanish (official), Qitchua, other Amerindian languages
- 90% of the population is Mestizo and Amerindian
- Religion: Roman Catholic 95%
- Capital: Quito (pop. 2.5 million +)
- Ecuador consists of four distinct geographical regions: the Pacific Coastal (lowlands in the west), the Highlands (Andes-Sierra) in the center, the Eastern Lowlands (Oriente-Jungle), and the
Galapagos Islands which are 600 miles west in the Pacific ocean.
- Climate: Ecuador's geography has endowed the country with a variety of microclimates. The coast is hot all year, with a humid rainy season
between December and May. In the mountains climate depends on altitude, becoming cooler the higher you go.
The Oriente (Jungle) region is hot, humid and wet, while the Galapagos Islands are dry.
- Volcanoes: The road south of Quito is the Pan American highway and runs through a long, fertile, central valley known as Volcano Alley.
On either side of the valley rise parallel sets of mountains with nine of the country's highest peaks; which includes the volcanoes of Chimborazo, Cotopoxi, Tungurahua, Sangay and Pichincha. Chimborazo at 20,564 ft is the highest peak in Ecuador, and on the equator anywhere
in the world. Cotopoxi, Sangay and Pichincha are among the world's top ten most active volcanoes.