Overview

Ecuador is a small country on the northwestern coast of South America. It measures 280,000 square kilometers—roughly the size of Colorado. It is bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the south and east, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The earth's equator, for which the country is named, runs through Ecuador only a few miles from its capital, Quito. Ecuador's flag consists of horizontal stripes—a wide yellow stripe above narrower blue and red stripes—surmounted by the national seal. This seal contains various national symbols, including a huge bird of prey with wings outspread, the sun in the sky, a white mountain and a boat on a river.

Geography divides Ecuador into three regions, western, central, and eastern. In the west is the coast, or costa. Flat and streaked with rivers, this region is a lush, hot jungle. East of that...