Where Is Ecuador Pacific Ocean Ecuador is a small country on the northwestern coast of SouthAmerica It covers 109,484 square miles 283,561 square kilometers Ecuador straddles the equator which earned the country its name It shares a border with Colombia to the northeast Peru cradles the country from the east and south Just south of the equator is the capital city of Quito It sits beneath a volcano in the Andes Mountains Pacific Ocean waves sweep over Ecuador’s western coast About 600 miles 1,000 kilometers offshore are the Galápagos Islands These famous islands are also part of Ecuador They are known for their unique wildlife 4
Quito equator Colombia Peru Ecuador N E W S Did you know A group of French scientists journeyed to Ecuador in the 1700s Their measurements around the equator were the first to reveal Earth’s exact size 5
The Land Did you know Most of Ecuador is warm and humid year-round with cooler weather in the mountains Sometimes weather patterns called El Niño and La Niña bring cycles of flooding and dryness San Rafael Falls San Rafael Falls 6
Many different landscapes fill Ecuador’s borders The Andes Mountains run through the center of the country from north to south These central highlands are called the Sierra Many of the tall peaks are covered in snow Several are also active volcanoes West of the mountains the land flattens into the Costa toward the Pacific This lowland area ranges from wetlands in the north to desert in the south The Amazon Rain Forest covers the eastern half of the country called the Oriente Misty mountain forests give way to thick lowland jungle The Napo and Pastaza Rivers flow through the forest on their way to join the Amazon River in Peru The volcano Chimborazo boasts the highest peak in Ecuador Because Earth bulges at the equator Chimborazo’s peak is farther from Earth’s center than Mount Everest 7
