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Ecuador
Information and History
Ecuador's
name comes from the Equator, which divides it unequally, putting
most of the country in the Southern Hemisphere. It may be the
smallest Andean country, but it has four distinct and
contrasting regions. The Costa, or coastal plain, grows enough
bananas to make the country the world's largest exporter of the
fruit. The Sierra, or Andean uplands, offers productive
farmland. Oil from the Oriente, jungles east of the
Andes, enriches the economy. The
Galápagos Islands, volcanic islands 960 kilometers west of
Ecuador, bring tourism revenue with its unique reptiles, birds,
and plants.
The country is divided ethnically as well as regionally. About
10 percent of the population is of European descent, about a
quarter belong to indigenous cultures, and the rest are of
mostly mixed ethnicity. Those of Spanish descent often are
engaged in administration and land ownership in Quito and the
surrounding Andean uplands; this is also where most of the
indigenous people live. The city of
Guayaquil
dominates the coastal plain, largely populated by mestizos.
Guayaquil—the country's largest city, major port, and leading
commercial center—is a rival to Quito. This is the wealthiest
part of Ecuador. |
