Page last updated on February 20, 2013

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
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 74
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
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
2,237 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

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
More Climate Details

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
[see also: Elevation extremes - lowest point country ranks ]
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%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 4.81%
other: 89.48% (2005)

Irrigated land:
8,650 sq km (2003)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
432 cu km (2000)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 16.98 cu km/yr (12%/5%/82%)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - total country ranks ]
per capita: 1,283 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:
frequent earthquakes; landslides; volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts
volcanism: volcanic activity concentrated along the Andes Mountains; Sangay (elev. 5,230 m), 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), 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