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Ecuador GEOGRAPHY
Size: Approximately 280,000 square kilometers.
Topography: Divided into three continental regions--the
Costa, Sierra, and Oriente--and one insular region--the Galápagos
Islands. Costa, located between Pacific Ocean and Andes Mountains,
consists of coastal lowlands and mountains. Sierra composed of two
major chains of Andes Mountains--Cordillera Occidental (Western
Chain) and Cordillera Oriental (Eastern Chain)--and intermontane
basin or plateau between the two chains. Cordillera Occidental
contains Ecuador's highest peak, 6,267-meter Mount Chimborazo.
Oriente consists of Andean piedmont and eastern lowlands. Galápagos
are islands of varied size located 1,000 kilometers west of
Ecuadorian coast.
Climate: Tropical climate throughout Costa, although
variations in temperature and rainfall result from proximity to
warm or cool ocean currents. Sierra climate ranges from tropical to
frozen, depending on altitude; notable rainfall variations also
occur. Tropical climate and abundant rainfall prevail in Oriente.
Galápagos climate varies from tropical and desert-like at sea level
to cold and wet at highest point.
Data as of 1989
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