About Quito, Ecuador
Ecuador's name comes from the Equator, which divides it unequally, putting most of the country in the Southern Hemisphere.
It has four distinct and contrasting regions:
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The Costa, or coastal plain, grows enough bananas to make the country the world's largest exporter of the fruit.
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The Sierra, or Andean uplands, offers productive farmland.
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Oil from the Oriente, Amazonean jungles east of the Andes, enriches the economy.
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The Galápagos Islands, volcanic islands 600 miles west of Ecuador, bring tourism revenue with its unique reptiles, birds, and plants.
The country is divided ethnically as well as regionally. About 10 percent of the population is of European descent, about a quarter belong to indigenous cultures, and the rest are of mostly mixed ethnicity.
The population of Ecuador is 13 million, of which 1.5m live in the capital Quito.
Ecuador is a Spanish-speaking democratic Republic, and the US$ is its currency.
Ecuador is about the size of the US state of Colorado (about the same area size as the UK).
As the crow flies, Quito is 2,570 miles from Dallas, and 5,718 miles from London.