Facts about Ecuador

Ecuador is located on the Equator, and that's where it gets it's name. It occupies part of the amazon basin and straddles the Andes Mountains.

Ecuador is boarded to the North by Columbia, Peru to the East and South and the Pacific Ocean to the West. Almost 14 million people live in Ecuador. A country slightly smaller then the state of Nevada.

The official language is Spanish. The capitol of Ecuador is Quito, which was once the Northern capitol of the ancient Inca Empire. Quito is located in the North Central part of the country among the Andes Mountains. Ecuador is home to Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the World!

Ecuador also includes the Pacific island group of the Galapagos Islands. Part of the 8000 sq. miles in the Galapagos is designated the wild lives sanctuary in 1935.

The Galapagos Islands enjoy warm and dry weather with an average yearly temperature of 82.4 degrees F. The islands are home to thousands of plant and animal species, most of which are not found anywhere else on the planet.

In fact, life on the Galapagos Islands was studied by the English naturalist Mr. Charles Darwin in 1835. Later he wrote a book called "Origins of Species" about the theory of natural selection, based on his research.
The islands are perhaps best known for their giant tortoises which have some of the longest life spans of any creature on Earth. Galapagos tortoises can live to be 150 years old!

Today many people visit both the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador because of their vast environmental diversity. Ecuador also has a deeply engrained cultural heritage and a rich economic potential.