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 ]
land: 276,841 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 6,720 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
note: includes Galapagos Islands
country comparison to the world: 74

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Nevada

Land boundaries:
total: 2,237 km
border countries (2): Colombia 708 km, Peru 1,529 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

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

Elevation:
mean elevation: 1,117 m
[see also: Mean Elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m
note: because the earth is not a perfect sphere and has an equatorial bulge, the highest point on the planet farthest 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:
agricultural land: 29.7% arable land 4.7%; permanent crops 5.6%; permanent pasture 19.4%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 38.9%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 31.4% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
15,000 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
nearly half of the population is concentrated in the interior in the Andean intermontane basins and valleys, with large concentrations also found along the western coastal strip; the rainforests of the east remain sparsely populated

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