Straddling the equator in western South America, Ecuador has territories in both the Northern and the Southern hemispheres. It borders Colombia to the north and shares a border Peru to the south and to the east.

Topics

• Ecuador's Geography
• Ecuador's Climate
• Flora & Fauna

Ecuador's Geography

Ecuador is a very geographically varied country. It is about the same area of the US state of Nevada, or New Zealand, and a bit larger than the United Kingdom. It straddles the equator (for which it was named) on the West, Pacific Ocean, coast of South America. It borders two countries: Peru to the south and east, and Colombia to the north.

There are three geographical regions: the coastal lowlands, mountain highlands and eastern jungle lowlands. The coastal lowlands used to be heavily forested, but much of that is gone now, due to agriculture and shrimp farms.
The backbone of Ecuador is the Andean highlands down the center of the country. The highest peak is Chimborazo (6310 metres; 20,700 ft.), but the most famous is the Cotopaxi volcano, just south of Quito. Quito is the world's second highest capital behind La Paz, Bolivia, at an altitude of 2850 metres (9350 ft.). The highlands contain many different towns and markets to visit.

The jungle, or Oriente as it is called by Ecuadorians, forms the upper basin of the Amazon jungle. There are many virgin rainforest areas, and the large Amazon River tributary, Rio Napo, cuts through the jungle. Oil exploitation and increased population are threats to this once unsettled area.
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Ecuador's Climate

The climate is confusing in Ecuador, especially for those from temperature regions. There are merely wet and dry seasons, and these seasons are different depending upon where in the country you are. The Pacific coast and the Galapagos Islands are influenced by the ocean. The warm current from the north causes hot and rainy seasons from January until April. The rain usually arrives in the afternoon, and often clears up by the early evening. Daytime temperatures are around 30°C (86°F), but are often much more. From May to December both the cool Humboldt and Peru currents from the south keep things a bit cooler, and rain is uncommon.

In the Oriente (jungle) bring a raincoat any time you visit because it rains most months. September to December are the driest, and June to August are the wettest. Different areas can vary slightly. The temperatures are nearly as hot as the coast. The dry season in the sierra (highlands) is June through September, plus usually for the month around Christmas. It doesn't rain every day during the other months, but during April, the wettest month, you can expect rain on half the days. The moderate temperatures make Quito's climate one of the most pleasant anywhere in the world. Daytime highs average 21°C (72°F), though on rainy days it can be a cool 10°C (50°F). Nighttime lows can reach 7°C (45°F).

One now (in)famous climatic effect is known as 'El Niño' which appears every few years without warning, usually followed by the reverse effect, called 'La Niña.' El Niño (the baby boy) is a dramatic raising of temperatures in a large swath of ocean off the coast of South America. This effect causes great changes in climate in Ecuador, Peru and around the world. A very large one appeared during 1997/98, causing millions of dollars damage in Ecuador (especially along the coast) and billions worldwide.

The El Niño of 1982/83 had a dramatic effect on the Galapagos Islands. As was wonderfully documented in Jonathan Weiner 's Pulitzer Prize winning book The Beak of the Finch : A Story of Evolution in Our Time (Vintage Books), research on the island of Daphne Minor during this period provided fascinating new evidence supporting the theory of evolution. Of course, it was Charles Darwin's visit to these islands that spawned his book which popularized this theory in the mid-1800s. Ecuadorians like to say that while there aren't 4 seasons during the year in Ecuador, you're likely to experience all 4 during any one day. So, the only thing predictable about the weather in Ecuador is its unpredictability.

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Flora & Fauna

Despite its relatively small size, Ecuador is gifted with more species than much larger countries. Because it is a tropical country, Ecuador is regarded as one of the most species-rich countries on the globe. This may be because of the 4 distinct regions of the country: highlands, jungle, coast, and the Galapagos. No what why, Ecuador is certainly a nature-lover's paradise.

According to the Holdridge Life Zones system, which identifies 116 life zones on earth, Ecuador has about two dozen of them. Within each life zone, many different habitats may exist. Some of the most interesting will be discussed below.
At the coast, one of the most interesting life zones (and one of the most imperiled) is the mangrove swamps. The mangrove has developed an incredible capacity to be able to grow in salt water. Around its stilt roots live fish, mollusks, crustaceans and many other invertebrates. On the branches you'll find nesting and resting pelicans, frigates and other sea birds. Sadly, these trees are being destroyed by the development of Ecuador's shrimp farms.

Tropical dry forest is a disappearing habitat along the coast, where there are distinct wet and dry seasons. Like a northern winter season, the trees discard their leaves during the dry season. The best example of this habitat is in the Machalilla National Park along the central coast.

Tropical cloud forests are found in isolated valleys in the highlands. This is an uncommon type of tropical rain forest. They are so named because the trees trap and create clouds which provide moisture allowing several types of plant species to survive. The dense vegetation of this type of this forest allows rare species of mammals to survive, such as the woolly tapir, Andean spectacled bear, and puma.

Above this altitude lies the páramo, or high altitude grasslands and shrublands. The soils are wet and peaty, and collect water which is eventually collected and used by people in the highland's towns and cities. You'll find mostly hard grasses, cushion plants and small herbaceous plants. One interesting adaptation is the development of curved leaves with waxy skins to deflect the harsh, ultraviolet-ladden sunlight common on cloudless days. An interesting plant found on the central and southern páramo is the chuquiragua. This plant resembles a thistle with orange flowers and a stem covered with spiky leaves. It has medicinal properties such as stopping coughs, and relieving liver and kidney infections.

Many hundred thousands Ecuadorians live on the various páramos. It has been used to grow potatoes and other tubers for centuries. There has been a large increase in cattle grazing, which leads to burning the old grasses to promote new, succulent root growth. This threatens the fragile habitat.

Plants

There are over 21,000 species of vascular plants in Ecuador. This compares to 17,000 species found in the whole of North America.

Birds

There are about 1600 species of birds in Ecuador, about twice the number found in any of the continents of North America, Europe or Australia. The Andean Condor is the most famous bird, and is found on the on the shield of the Ecuadorian flag. With its 3 metre (10 ft.) wingspan and 10 kg (22 lbs..) weight, it is the largest flying bird in the world. A hundred years ago sightings of a dozen were common; today it's a sadly rare sight.

One of the most common and delightful sights around Ecuador is the hummingbird. There are over a hundred species of this energetic bird, and are much larger than their North American and European counterparts. One species, the Andean hillstar which is found in the páramo, has an amazing adaptation: it lowers its body temperature to about 25°C (80°F) to reduce its metabolism and thus its need for energy.

Mammals

In addition to the ones mentioned above, there are several species of monkeys (the most common is the strange sounding howlers) and over a hundred types of bats. The lowlands have more mammals, such as deer, rabbits, squirrels and sometimes foxes. In the highlands the most famous are the camel-like llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos. In the jungles few mammals are ever seen, though exotic species such as ocelots, jaguars, tapirs, pumas and bears are known to be there.

Other Animals

Many other types of animals live in Ecuador, such as insects and reptiles. Butterflies are seen regularly by visitors, though the butterfly farm outside of Quito is the best place to see the most beautiful ones. A walk through a tropical forest will usually find a line of leaf cutter ants on the jungle floor. There are around 400 species of reptiles in Ecuador, about half of them snakes. Though there are poisonous snakes skulking around, usually farm workers and not tourists stumble across their paths.

In the Amazonian river tributaries in Ecuador, roughly 1000 of the 2500 species of fish can be found. Several examples include: the eel, with its 500 volt shock; the piranha, where a school can devour a cow in a few minutes; the stingray, which can deliver a painful poison to someone who unwittingly steps on it near a shoreline; and the little candirú fish, which can swim up a urethra and lodge itself there. Despite these awful sounding creatures, tourists are rarely affected, and may swim in the rivers safely. Just shuffle your feet when entering the water to scare the stingrays, don't have open wounds or blood to attract the piranhas, and wear a bathing suit to keep out the candirú!

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