Information about Ecuador

Location: Northeast of South America between Colombia and Peru by the Pacific Ocean

Surface: 272.045 km²

Population:  Approximately 12.5 million inhabitants
                     Urban:  8'098.436
                     Rural:   4'547.659 

Capital: Quito. Population: 1,8 million

Language: Spanish is the official language.  Also native dialects are spoken like the Quichua. 

Currency: U.S. dollar

Electric power: 110v. 60 Hz

Political system: Democratic republic since 1978. 

Religion: More than the 95% of the population is a Catholic. 

Geography:

Ecuador limits to the north with Colombia, to the south and to the east with Peru, and to the west with the Pacific Ocean.  There are three well different geographical zones.  The first one is the Sierra or high lands of the Andes that go from the Colombian border, in the north, to Peru in the south.  In this region there are two mountain range: the Oriental and the Westerner.  The second region is the Coast, a coastal plain between the Andes and the Pacific.  In this region the large plantations of bananas they are found, cocoa, coffee and sugar.  The third one is the East, formed by the high basin of the Amazon River, and that has large rivers surrounded by forest extensions.  This zone, though is approximately the 36% of the Ecuadorian territory, only is inhabited by the 3% of the population.  The Archipelago of the Galapagos Islands situated to 1000 km. of the continent in the Pacific Ocean also belongs to Ecuador. 

Weather

By being located in the parallel 0, Ecuador does not have well definite stations.  The four regions present different climatic conditions, you determined by their altitude, location and, chiefly, by the presence of the mountain range of the Andes and the maritime influence.  The Coast of the Pacific has a rainy station among December to May and another drought from June to November.  The temperature oscillates between the 23 and 36 °C.  (73 and 97° F) The Andes, they have a rainy climate and cold from November to April and dry from May to October.  Their temperature is between the 13 and the 18°C.  (55 and 64°F) In the Amazonia, with temperatures between 23 and 36 °C (73 and 97°F), the station is rainy and humid from January to September and drought from October to December.  Turtles offer a temperate climate with temperatures between 22 and 32°C (72 and 90° F)

Fauna

To date they have been described for the Ecuador 369 species, of which 30, that is to say the 8.13%, they are endemic:  12 species are found in Turtles, 12 more in the Andean region and the dispersed remainder in the Coast and the East. 

Birds

In the continental Ecuador 1578 species of birds exist and in the Galapagos Islands other 38 that are endemic of this place.  On the whole 1616 species.  With relation to the remainder of countries of the world, the Ecuador is located in fourth place.  Approximately the 84% of birds are residents, the remainders are migratory species. 

Flora

Currently, the diversity of Ecuadorian plants is very large; it is estimated that 20 000 species exist, including ferns and plants with seed.  According to the Catalogue of Vascular Plants of Ecuador (1999), prepared for more than 200 scientists, * up to now 15306 species of plants have been described, which they are found placed in the herbariums of the entire world. 

Airports

Ecuador counts on one of the better internal air transportations in the region.  The prices vary according to the distance and to the service.  The most long flight inside our hard country around 45 min, excepting the Galapagos Islands, to which arrives in an hour and a half, from Quito or Guayaquil.