Ecuador a Magical Country
Military Geographical Institute
From "History of Our Culture"
If anything defines Ecuador , a small country of just over 270 thousand square kilometers, with a population of just under 11 million inhabitants, is diversity. No other nation in the world can present in an area so small such a striking variety of races, cultures, languages, traditions,natural species, ecological zones, climatic zones, cultures and landscapes, and amazingly one can experience all of this at times by traveling very short distances.
The surprises are never ending: If you travel from the countries largest city , Guayaquil, which is located near the Pacific Ocean , towards the capital, which is Quito, a beautiful city nestled in the Andes mountains, this trip which is approximatley 500 kilometeres long will give you not only the most incredible coastle scenery, inmense panicles, exuberant vegetaion and crops of the tropics, but all along feeling a warm ocean breeze and the rigor of the equatorial sun. Then just a couple of hours further the coastal plain becomes a pre mountain area filled with subtropical forests, banana plantations and African palms. The heat now begins to intensify, soon you will be aproaching the vast range of the Andes it is now time to climb up to the summits. You can only imagine the views from here, simply breathtaking. The crops are replaced by mountaines vegetation, with fog at times being a companion for many hours. Here you will come across village farmers and craftsmen selling there goods along the roadside. Upon your desent the road turns and turns like a never ending carousel ride. Suddenly you are at the Macizos rivers, they a very rocky rivers which flow from the cliffs and are launched towards the ocean, they are surrounded by green grass and vegetation with a fantastic variety of orchids, birds, small mammals and large animals as well. Finally, after the last curve, the snowy peaks of the Andes.
IIt is the Kingdom of the crystaline wind, the commemoration of the majestic, the over whelming scale of the high peaks, these mountains,with smaller ones aside, form a landscape seemingly unusual in a country crossed by the ecuator.These mountains aside some smaller form a landscape seemingly unusual in a country crossed by the equator. These mountains aside some smaller form a landscape seemingly unusual in a country crossed by the equator. And amid the high peaks, cities that grow and care, their Spanish roots, proud of their indigenous past, but with all the comforts of modern life. The valleys temperate those who settle in cities and towns presents a dazzling array of colors, ranging from bright green of the vegetation through the pure yellow maize, gold wheat sowings of the deep green of the forests, until blue Mountains. Each valley has created its own microclimate, its unique system, as well as customs, traditions, music, food and even dialects. The continued presence of solar luminosity which is with us almost every day of the year produces a variety of flowers for export, this has allowed us to become one of the world leaders in this area. The weather can vary from an average of 18 degrees Celsius to below zero temperatures up in the Andean peaks. This is the territory of fauna and flora of the Andes, the giant condor dominates this area, reaching hights above 6000 meters. Here is the platform of numerous indigenous people, both descendants of the early settlers of the region, such as the Inca conquerors and aymáras. The predominant language among the indigenous population is Quechua, this was inherited from the Incas, but in there formal education they were taught spanish, therefor they are bilingual..
One of the most spectacular sites is Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano on the planet, very tempting for the adventurous to climb, and easley done because of the main roads leading to the foot of the mountain. This is the territory of the flame; the vicuna noware replenishing the population of animals, such as deer, wolf and the condor. Straw is grown as a crop which is used as roofing material .
From these giants of ice and rock it is possible to see the ocean to the west and the jungle to the east. Yes , the Amazon Jungle, said to be the lung that saves this country from pollution, filled with thousands of plant forms and vegitaion still unkown to man. A dangerous and exotic place were several tribes still live. It is the last lung of a planet injured by pollution: the Amazon jungle. This succession of luxuriant flora splendid in which they reside thousands of species not yet known to man, a dangerous and exotic wildlife and a diverse population in which we highlight the Shuaras, heirs to the dreaded jíbaros, the Huaorani mal known by a name that still hate: aucas, Quichuas, secoyas and canelos, whose numbers have substantially reduced, as well as settlers, farmers from all regions of the country.
This gigantic rainforest is just tens of kilometers from the Andes and one can see from many sectors of the forest, the snow capped peaks of the Andes.
If we return to the coast, we will find unparalleld wealth in the fertile floodplains, were bananas, coffee, and cocoa all of the finest quality in the world are grown for export. Here you will also find shrimp farms, raised in giant pools.In the north, there is a large African American population, while in the central and southern region you have predominantly mestizo or montubios people-. But there does not stop Ecuador. Outside of the continental shelf, a thousand miles from the coast, are the Galapagos Islands , the last paradise, a natural heritage of mankind. Unique for its spectacular landscape, but above all by its flora and fauna, due to the natural conditions in the archipelago, and in particular to the absence of predators, it has retained its basic characteristics over the centuries, thereby enabling Charles Darwin to prove the theory of evolution of species.
 Impressive and exciting animals, unique in the world, without fear of approaching men, protected by the genetic inheritance of centuries of coexistence without the intervention of factors inimical to their growth. Wolves marine seals, boobies, giant tortoises, land and marine iguanas, birds of various kinds, cormorants, flamingos, dolphins and whales can be seen, observed at very short distances and photographed, as if they were pets.
This natural wonder has been protected for more than three decades by the government and people of Ecuador , through the creation of the Galapagos National Park and scientific activity and preservation of the Charles Darwin Foundation. A visit to the Galapagos Islands can be made only with a qualified guide and the authorities have set annual quotas for visitors to avoid affecting the delicate ecological balance of the archipelago.
  
Ecuador, we have Oceans, plains, forests, mountains, valleys, islands, all kinds of crops, fruit available year round,flowers and vegitation ,differant races and langauges, folk art and crafts, oil, gold , bananas, coffee, flowers and shrimp for export, a huge variety and richness of a country barely 270 thousand square kilometers in size.
Ecuador , a nation that encapsulates the other, unique and diverse.The reality of Ecuador is that we are just a short flight away from many major cities in the world, making us easly accesible to the world travaler. .
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