Ecuador

Ecuador, or according to its official name; Republic of Ecuador, lies in the northwest of South America. The name of the country is derived from its possition on the Equator. Apart from the Equator, Ecuador also occupies parts of the Andes mountain range as well as the Amazon jungle. It borders Peru in the East and south, colombia in the North and the Pacific ocean in the west. About a 1000 kilometers of the coast of Ecuador one finds the Galapagos Islands that are also part of the country. In total the country covers about 270.670 Km2 of surface area. With an estimated population of 12 million the populationdensity is about 44 people per Km2.

From north to south the country is split in half by the Andes mountain range. This has resulted in 3 destinct climatological zones and one of most divers environments in the world. Several renowned scientists have done research in Ecuador in the past to fund there theories. Amongst them were Charles-Marie de la Condamine and Charles Darwin, who based his evolution theory on research on the Galapagos.

The capital of the country, Quito is located in the Andean highands in the nothern central part of the country. Other important cities are Guayaquil, te main port of the country, in the south coast and cuenca, a historical city in the the southern part of the Andean highlands.

The culture of Ecuador is as divers as the environment. In the Amazon for example life about 40 different Indian tribes, each and everyone with their own traditions, customs and in most cases their own language. Officially however , Ecuador has 2 main cultures, the Latin Hispanic culture and the Indian culture. The difference is also apparent in the Ecuadorian language, although Spanish is the official language the Indian language of Quechua is also widely spoken and forms an important part of the country's heritage. As a result Ecuadorian culture has been influenced by both.

Economically, Ecuador is a a known exporter of bananas and oil and other products such as chocolate, shrimps and gold. However the most famous export product of Ecuador is (ironically) the Panama hat. These hand-woven hats are famous all over the world. Politicalwise Ecuador has been a reasonably stable democracy since 1979, although it does still suffer many economical illnesses typical of the region.