Ecuador Geography Profile 2009

Location

Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru

Geographic coordinates

2 00 S, 77 30 W

Map references

South America

Area

total: 283,561 sq km
land: 276,841 sq km
water: 6,720 sq km
note: includes Galapagos Islands

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Nevada

Land boundaries

total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

Coastline

2,237 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500-m isobath

Climate

tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands

Terrain

coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m
note: due to the fact that the earth is not a perfect sphere and has an equatorial bulge, the highest point on the planet furthest from its center is Mount Chimborazo not Mount Everest, which is merely the highest point above sea-level

Natural resources

petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower

Land use

arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 4.81%
other: 89.48% (2005)

Irrigated land

8,650 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

432 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 16.98 cu km/yr (12%/5%/82%)
per capita: 1,283 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

frequent earthquakes; landslides; volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues

deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world