Ecuador The Land

Travelers come to Ecuador from all over the globe to bask on Pacific beaches, scour Andean peaks, and float along Amazonian tributaries. The country’s extraordinary geography has lured foreigners for centuries. The Andes span the western side of South America, stretching more than 4000 miles from Venezuela to the southern tip of Chile. In a classic prehistoric tale of the birds and the bees, two tectonic plates collided over 70 million years ago to produce the second-largest mountain range in the world. Wind and water have not yet worked their erosive magic on the young, rugged peaks, but the region’s geology is far from static; the entire western coast of South America lies on the edge of a continental plate that is being subducted by the oceanic plate of the Pacific. Frequent earthquakes and occasional eruptions are, therefore, the norm. All along the Andes, active and extinct volcanoes mingle with long stretches of arable Highlands (Sierra).

The wet, cold páramo (high, bleak tableland) dominates the upper reaches of the Ecuadorian Andes. Seemingly bleak, this area’s short, shrubby bushes burst into color from September to November. To the south, volcanoes give way to the Highlands, or Sierra, where two mountain ranges cradle a high, fertile valley. This arable land is cultivated with crops such as barley, wheat, and corn, resulting in the typical Andean landscape of patchwork fields dominated by snow-capped volcanoes, with an occasional sparkling lake thrown in for good measure. Coffee, bananas, and cacao thrive in the Lowlands, which were completely forested until cultivated. These fertile lands helped make Ecuador one of the first banana republics and the world’s largest exporter of bananas. Swampy areas follow the coastline. The Pacific Coast is lined with sparsely populated, sandy beaches alongside warm waters that keep the air steamy all year. East of the central corridor formed by the Andes, the hot, humid Amazon Rainforest (called the Oriente in Ecuador) occupies much of the country’s land area. Many indigenous communities (Huaorani, Siecoya, Siona, Quichua, Cofán, and Shuar) live in this region. Much of South America’s world-renowned biodiversity can be found here, despite detrimental oil fields, cattle ranches, and slash-and-burn agriculture.

The Galápagos Islands are an ecological niche all their own. Formed over the past five million years from the eruptions of underwater volcanoes, the islands began as barren lava masses. Today, they teem with animal and plant species that have crossed the water from the continent to the islands. The warm waters of El Niño and the cold ones of the Humboldt Current battle to keep temperatures warm but replete with rain. The first half of the year acts as the wet season, the last half drier and cooler with temperatures below 21°C.

Unfortunately, Ecuador’s natural treasures haven’t translated into wealth for its people. Despite the banana boom of the 50s and the oil boom of the 70s, the country’s economy continues to struggle. Meanwhile, the political scene fluctuates up and down, throwing even the presidents for a loop (from 1931 to 1948, none of Ecuador’s 21 presidents succeeded in completing a full term in office). Nevertheless, in the midst of adversity, the Ecuadorian people have managed to retain their energetic way of life, visible in everything from their undying enthusiasm for soccer to their lively chatter on even the most crowded of buses. Ecuador’s natural wonders and personable populace will pleasantly surprise visitors.