ECUADORIt’s in the middle.

THE GEOGRAPHY Area:

276,840 sq. km, or about the size of the state of Colorado

Made up four different geographical locations: The Andes Mountain The Coast The Amazon The Galapagos Island

Large Cities Quito- Capital, located in the

Andes mountains Guayaquil- largest city,

located on the coast

THE PEOPLE Population-

almost 14 million People Groups

Indigenous- 6.8%, Mestizo -77.4%, Caucasian & others- 10.8%, African 4.9%.

Languages Spanish Quichua Shuar

Religion Roman Catholic- 95% Traditional dress of a Quichua

woman

THE GOVERNMENT Form of government

Republic Voting

Obligatory for adults 18-65 years

President Rafael Correa 2007-

Present Vice President

Lenin Moreno 2007- Present

1954 picture of the Plaza de Independencia in Quito where the government branches are housed

THE ECONOMY Per Capita GDP

$3,670- 2008 $3,366- 2007 $3,115- 2006

National Exports Petroleum, Bananas,

Shrimp, Flowers, Natural Resources

Petroleum, Fish, Shrimp, Timber, Gold.

Currency U.S. Dollar

THE HISTORY Flourishing advanced

indigenous cultures were conquered by the Inca Empire in the 15th century.

1534- Arrival of Spanish and conquering of Incan Empire

1563- Quito becomes seat of a royal "audiencia" (administrative district) of Spain.

Ancient ruins of Ingapirca, an indigenous civilization, taken over by the Incas and eventually the Spanish conquistadors.

THE HISTORY -CONTINUED

1882- Ecuador wins independence from Spain

1830- Ecuador becomes separate republic after 8 years in Simon Bolivar’s Republic of Gran Colombia

19th century- marked by instability, with a rapid succession of rulers. The conservative Gabriel Garcia Moreno unified the country in the

1860s- unification under Gabriel Garcia Moreno with the support of the Catholic Church.

Late 1800s- world demand for cocoa tied economy to commodity exports and led migrations from the highlands to the agricultural frontier on the coast.

Spanish Revolutionary Simón Bolivar

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS A small island 1,000 km

off the pacific coast of Ecuador

Convergence point of several ocean currents, creating a unique environment for animals, flora, and fauna

Made up of 13 large island, 6 smaller ones and over 40 inlets

Made famous by Charles Darwin and its role in his Origin of the Species

Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO

While we see a giant turtle, to a local, this is a “galapagos.”

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS- WILDLIFE 50% of the birds, 32% of the

plants 25% of the fish, as well as many of the invertebrates are unique only to the Galapagos

Animals found on the islands include: marine and land iguanas lava lizards more than 13 species of

varying finches and and flightless cormorants,

small penguins flamingos albatrosses boobies- red footed, white

footed and blue footed World Famous Blue Footed Boobie

GALAPAGOS- MARINE IGUANAS The Galapagos

are home to the world’s only sea faring iguana. Click on the play button to watch a short video on these extraordinary creatures! Simply double

click on the video to play!

QUESTION #1What is the currency of Ecuador?

A. The PesoB. The QuetzalC. The EuroD. The Dollar

QUESTION #2 What is the dominant religion in

Ecuador?

A. IslamB. Roman CatholicismC. ChristianityD. None of the Above

QUESTION #3 What is the name of the large “turtles”

found on the Ecuadorian Islands?

A. GalapagosB. Giant TurtlesC. Blue Footed BoobiesD. Albatrosses

QUESTION #4 Which is the following is NOT a

dominant language in Ecuador?

A. QuichuaB. Spanish C. ShuarD. Mayan

LINKS Below are some websites that offer

additional information on Ecuadorhttp://www.elcomercio.com/default.asp

Read one of Quito’s main newspapers to see the most current Ecuadorian news

http://www.eluniverso.com/ Read one of the main papers of Guayaquil, the

largest city in Ecuador, located on the coasthttp://www.galapagosislands.com/

Want to plan a trip to see the Galapagos for yourself? Click here to learn more!

CREDITS Information on the Galapagos Island, retrieved July 15, 2009, from

http://www.ecuaworld.com/discover/galapagos.htm Information on mainland of Ecuador, retrieved July 15, 2009, from

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35761.htm# Image of Quito from 1954, retrieved, July 15, 2009, from

www.ploung.com/Plaza%20Quito%20Ecuador.jpg Image of Simon Bolivar, retrieved July 15, 2009 from

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/southamericaweb/factfile/Unique-facts-SouthAmerica9.htm

Map of Ecuador Image, retrieved July 14, 2009 geoinfo.amu.edu.pl/wpk/factbook/geos/ec.html

Image of Petroleum production, retrieved July 14, 2009 from http://

www.allamericanpatriots.com/news_topics/nancy_pelosi?page=1 Image of Ingapirca ruins, retrieved July 14, 2009 from

www.flickr.com/photos/aether8m/188163304/ Video from:

Marine Iguanas of the Galapagos Islands. Discovery Channel School.(2002). Retrieved July 17, 2009, fromDiscovery Education: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

All other photos are from my personal photo gallery, taken during my year long stay in Ecuador