Geography of Ecuador
Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru.
Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S, 77 30 W
Area: total: 283,561 sq km; land: 276,841 sq km; water: 6,720 sq km
note: includes Galapagos Islands
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 peak 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
volcanism: Ecuador experiences volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Sangay (elev. 5,230 m, 17,159 ft), which erupted in 2010, is mainland Ecuador's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes in the Andes include Antisana, Cayambe, Chacana, Cotopaxi, Guagua Pichincha, Reventador, Sumaco, and Tungurahua; Fernandina (elev. 1,476 m, 4,842 ft), a shield volcano that last erupted in 2009, is the most active of the many Galapagos volcanoes; other historically active Galapagos volcanoes include Wolf, Sierra Negra, Cerro Azul, Pinta, Marchena, and Santiago
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.
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