Territorios De Ecuador
Ecuador has four main regions or territorios. The coast or la costa is on the countries Eastern side. It boarders the Pacific Ocean and holds many beach and surf towns. The mountains or la sierra is Ecuador's middle region. It encompasses the Ande mountains, which run down the middle of the country. El oriente includes rainforests and Ecuador's portion of the Amazon. It takes up about half of the country and is home to a diverse array of plants and animals, as well as many indigenous, pre-Colombian tribes. The Galapagos Islands hold some of the most diverse land in the world. They are home to thousands of species, many found no where else in the world.
La costa de Ecuador is usually pretty warn and wet. It has a rainy and dry season, although you have to be aware of the sun all year round. Make sure to use a lot of sunscreen if you visit the coast. The Spanish spoken there is usually faster and less formal, so it may take a second to catch onto the langauge. Luckly the people are very friendly and usually willing to help. Some cities in the coastal region include Guayaquil, Montañita, Salinas
(image on right), and further inland Portoviejo.
(image on right), and further inland Portoviejo.
La sierra de Ecuador is made up of the Andes mountain range which runs through the middle of the country. The mountains are cooler than the coast, but the weather changes depending on how south you are. The Spanish spoken there is more formal and clear. It's one of the best places for people to learn Spanish. La sierra is home to Ecuador's captial, Quito (image on left), as well as Cuenca and Cotacachi. You can also visit the equator here and see in person how water spins differently depending on which side you're on.
El oriente is the eastern part of Ecuador and includes the Amazon basin. It is a true jungle with lots of rain and humidity. Many indigeous tribes live there and many of the twenty some languages spoken in Ecuador are spoken in this region. You can take tours into the Amazon and explore both the rivers and jungle.
The Galapagos Arcapeligo is one of the most diverse places in the world. Charles Dawin used the islands to cement his theories of evolution. It is a stunning collection of 20 some islands spanning 17,000 square miles (45,000 square kilometers) across the Pacific Ocean. It's home to many iconic creatures such as the Blue-footed Booby, Marine Iguana, Galapagos Giant Tortoise, and the Galapagos Penguin.
Ecuador is home to 24 different provinces, scattered throughout the country. Across la sierra there are 10 provinces, along la costa there are 7, and sprinkled through el oriente are 6 provinces. The Galapagos Islands also have its own province. Within these provinces there are cantons, which are a type of administrative division within a country. There are about 220 cantons in Ecuador. In addition, Ecuador has a third level of administrative division within the country, parroquias or parishes. These are not used among many countries, however there are over 1500 in Ecuador. As you can see in the map the provinces in el oriente are typically larger in the amount of space they take up than those in la sierra or even those on la costa.
