Ecuador has three main geographic regions, plus an insular region in the
Pacific Ocean.
The
Costa is comprised of the low-lying litoral lying in the western part of the country. Its coastlines are on the Pacific.
The
Sierra region is the mountainous, high-altitude vertical belt running along the centre of the country. This region's topography is as a result of the
Andes mountain range running along it.
The
Oriente (literally "East") comprises the
Amazon rainforest areas in the eastern part of the country, accounting for just under half of the country's total surface area, though populated by under 5% of the population.
Ecuador's capital is
Quito, and is located in the province of Pichincha in the Sierra region. Its largest city is Guayaquil, located in the province of Guayas in the Costa.
Cotopaxi, which is located just south of Quito, in the neighbouring province of that same name, is the country's and the world's
highest active volcano. Highest peak in Ecuador is the
Chimborazo, rising approximately 6310 meters above sea level.
More maps from Ecuador:
Galapagos Islands
