Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (621 mi) west of the mainland. The country's capital is Quito, but its largest city is Guayaquil.
The territories of modern-day Ecuador were once home to a variety of
Europeans, Native American, African, and Asian descendants. Spanish is the official language spoken by a majority of the population, although 13 native languages are also recognized, including Quechua and Shuar
.
Ecuador is a
PROSUR, and the Non-Aligned Movement. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, between 2006 and 2016, poverty decreased from 36.7% to 22.5% and annual per capita GDP growth was 1.5 percent (as compared to 0.6 percent over the prior two decades). At the same time, the country's Gini index
of economic inequality improved from 0.55 to 0.47.
One of 17 megadiverse countries in the world, Ecuador hosts many endemic plants and animals, such as those of the Galápagos Islands. In recognition of its unique ecological heritage, the new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable rights of nature. (Full article...)
Image 8A manuscript map of the islands from the charts drafted by James Colnett of the British Royal Navy in 1793, adding additional names (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 14A satellite map of chlorophyll and phytoplankton concentration (top) paired with a map of oceanic surface temperatures at the same time (bottom). The thriving populations represented by green and yellow in the upper map correlate to areas of higher surface temperatures represented by yellow in the lower map (2 March 2009). (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 20A woman in Ecuadorian dress participating in the 2010 Carnaval del Pueblo. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 21A Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) on Santa Cruz. C. nigra is the largest living species of tortoise, hunted to near extinction during the islands' whaling era. (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 32The banana boom of the mid-20th century boosted the economy of Guayaquil, where office buildings like these were built. (from History of Ecuador)
La Niña (bottom). The color scale goes from blue at the lowest concentrations to red at the highest. Currents that normally fertilize phytoplankton reverse during El Niño, resulting in barren oceans. The same currents are strengthened by La Niña, resulting in an explosion of ocean life. (from Galápagos Islands
)
Image 36Hand painted crafts at the Otavalo Artisan Market (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 56The Post Barrel on Floreana Island, formerly used by sailors to pass messages to any passing ships (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 57Location of the Galápagos Islands relative to continental Ecuador (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 58Map of the former Gran Colombia in 1824 (named in its time as Colombia), the Gran Colombia covered all the colored region. (from History of Ecuador)
... that San Rafael Falls, once Ecuador's largest waterfall, was swallowed by a sinkhole in February 2020 and no longer exists?
... that Julian Assange's lawyer argued that the rules set by the Ecuadorian embassy requiring Assange to take care of his pet cat Michi were "denigrating"?
... that Quito (the capital of Ecuador) has the highest cable car in the world?
... that Ecuador's biodiversity is amongst the highest in the world? For instance more than 16,000 species of plants, including 4,000 species of orchids.
... that Guayaquil (Ecuador's largest city) has the most modern airport of the Latin American region... (see municipalidad de guayaquil in red)
... that
Quechua
, has been continuously erupting since 1934?
... that Imbabura(pictured) is an inactive stratovolcano in northern Ecuador which is revered in local folklore as a protective parent? Imbabura
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