Battle of Backbone Mountain

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Introduction

P:EC

Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (621 mi) west of the mainland. The country's capital is Quito, but its largest city is Guayaquil.

The territories of modern-day Ecuador were once home to a variety of indigenous peoples that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was colonized by Spanish Empire during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia, from which it emerged as a sovereign state in 1830. The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador's ethnically diverse population, with most of its 17.8 million people being mestizos, followed by large minorities of Europeans, Native American, African, and Asian descendants. Spanish is the official language spoken by a majority of the population, although 13 native languages are also recognized, including Quechua and Shuar.

Ecuador is a representative democratic presidential republic and a developing country whose economy is highly dependent on exports of commodities, primarily petroleum and agricultural products. The country is a founding member of the United Nations, Organization of American States, Mercosur, PROSUR, and the Non-Aligned Movement. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, between 2006 and 2016, poverty decreased from 36.7% to 22.5% and annual per capita GDP growth was 1.5 percent (as compared to 0.6 percent over the prior two decades). At the same time, the country's Gini index of economic inequality improved from 0.55 to 0.47.

One of 17 megadiverse countries in the world, Ecuador hosts many endemic plants and animals, such as those of the Galápagos Islands. In recognition of its unique ecological heritage, the new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable rights of nature. (Full article...)

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Map of Galápagos Islands

Isabela Island (Spanish: Isla Isabela) is the largest of the Galápagos Islands, with an area of 4,586 km² (1,771 sq mi) and a length of 100 km (62 mi). By itself, it is larger than all the other islands in the chain combined and it has a little under 2000 permanent inhabitants. The island straddles the equator. (Full article...)

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Ecuador Articles

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The following are images from various Ecuador-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A Galápagos fur seal on Santiago Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 2Gen. José de Villamil, founder of the Ecuadorian Navy and first governor of the islands (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 3Galápagos tortoise on Santa Cruz Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 4Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galápagos (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 5Grapsus grapsus on the rocks (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 6Bottlenose dolphins jumping offshore of the islands (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 7North Seymour Island with Daphne Island in the distance (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 8A satellite map of chlorophyll and phytoplankton concentration (top) paired with a map of oceanic surface temperatures at the same time (bottom). The thriving populations represented by green and yellow in the upper map correlate to areas of higher surface temperatures represented by yellow in the lower map (2 March 2009). (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 9A bowl of fanesca served in Quito, Ecuador. A traditional soup of Ecuador served around Easter. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 10Satellite photo of the Galápagos islands overlaid with the names of the islands (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 11The Spanish Historical Center in Quito, Ecuador (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 12Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Tortuga Bay (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 13Incan ruins at Ingapirca (from History of Ecuador)
Image 14Map of the former Gran Colombia in 1824 (named in its time as Colombia), the Gran Colombia covered all the colored region. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 15Galápagos penguin on Bartolomé Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 16The flag of Galápagos Province (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 17Juan Montalvo (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 18The Post Barrel on Floreana Island, formerly used by sailors to pass messages to any passing ships (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 19Former President Rafael Correa (left) attends President-elect Lenín Moreno's (middle) "changing of the guard" ceremony. The two PAIS leaders were considered close allies before Moreno's "de-Correaization" efforts started after he assumed the presidency. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 20Tumaco-La Tolita mythological figure in feathered costume. Between 100 BC and 100 AD. Found in Esmeraldas. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 21Adult Galápagos sea lion resting on a park bench in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 22Marine iguana (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 23Satellite maps of the concentration of chlorophyll (representing abundance of phytoplankton) during El Niño (top) and La Niña (bottom). The color scale goes from blue at the lowest concentrations to red at the highest. Currents that normally fertilize phytoplankton reverse during El Niño, resulting in barren oceans. The same currents are strengthened by La Niña, resulting in an explosion of ocean life. (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 24Traditional Alpaca clothing at the Otavalo Artisan Market (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 25Ecuadorian children on a Galápagos beach in the 1920s (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 26Waved albatrosses on Española (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 27The chart of the Galápagos published by the English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley in 1684, the source of many of the islands' English names (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 28A woman in Ecuadorian dress participating in the 2010 Carnaval del Pueblo. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 29Orthographic projection centered over the Galápagos (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 30Alpaca Scarf´s at the Otavalo Artisan Market. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 31General Antonio José de Sucre, Commander In Chief, División del Sur. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 32Major square of Quito. Painting of 18th century. Quito Painting Colonial School. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 33Leonidas Iza, president of CONAIE, a confederation of Ecuadorian Indigenous groups, in 2022 (from History of Ecuador)
Image 34Eleanor Roosevelt visiting U.S. servicemen at Beta Base (Seymour Airport) on Baltra during World War II (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 35Admiralty chart of the Galápagos (1953) (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 36A photograph of the Galápagos Islands from the International Space Station in October 2020. North is to the right. The sunglint reveals features usually difficult to spot, including the crater lake in the caldera of La Cumbre, the shield volcano that formed Fernandina Island. More details via click-through. (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 37Galápagos dove on Española Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 38Pinnacle Rock on Bartolomé Island, with Santiago in the background and a ferry on the right for scale (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 39The Wall of Tears at Puerto Villamil on Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 40Isabela seen from the Spot Satellite (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 41From an aircraft flying out of Baltra Island (on the right) and the Santa Cruz (on the left), the Itabaca Channel is the waterway between the islands. (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 42Sunset on San Cristóbal Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 43Location of the Galápagos Islands relative to continental Ecuador (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 44Gould's illustration of Darwin's finches (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 45The banana boom of the mid-20th century boosted the economy of Guayaquil, where office buildings like these were built. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 46Seymour Airport on Baltra (2013) (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 47Blue-footed booby (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 48Antique dug out canoes in the courtyard of the Old Military Hospital in the Historic Center of Quito. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 49The 1841 Admiralty chart drafted from FitzRoy's survey of the islands on HMS Beagle (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 50Hand painted crafts at the Otavalo Artisan Market (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 51Detail of the Galápagos on Abraham Ortelius's 1570 map of the Americas (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 52Water taxi in Puerto Ayora (2011) (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 53A Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) on Santa Cruz. C. nigra is the largest living species of tortoise, hunted to near extinction during the islands' whaling era. (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 54Traditional Handmade hats for sale at the Otavalo Artisan Market in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 55Daphne Major (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 56A manuscript map of the islands from the charts drafted by James Colnett of the British Royal Navy in 1793, adding additional names (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 57Julio Jaramillo is an icon of music. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 58School of scalloped hammerheads off Wolf Island (from Galápagos Islands)

Did you know - load new batch

... that San Rafael Falls, once Ecuador's largest waterfall, was swallowed by a sinkhole in February 2020 and no longer exists?
... that in February 2023, Ecuadorian entrepreneur Omar Menéndez was elected the mayor of his canton the day after his assassination?
... that Julian Assange's lawyer argued that the rules set by the Ecuadorian embassy requiring Assange to take care of his pet cat Michi were "denigrating"?
... that Lavinia Valbonesi, the first lady–designate of Ecuador, is a nutritionist who owns a fitness center in Tampa, Florida, and a healthy-dining location in Guayaquil?
... that the white-tailed jay found in Ecuador and Peru was once thought to have been brought to Mexico by pre-Columbian trade?
... that 2023 Ecuadorian presidential candidate Luisa González was pepper-sprayed by the National Police while on her way to register her candidacy?

... that Gabriela Rivadeneira, a 29-year old former local beauty queen, has been mentioned as a possible successor for President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa?
... that Ana Lucía Armijos, president of the Ecuadorian Monetary Board, went into hiding for a year after the Supreme Court of Ecuador called for her arrest in the case of a $200 million bank bailout?
... that Guayaquil (Ecuador's largest city) has the most modern airport of the Latin American region... (see municipalidad de guayaquil in red)
... that Carina Vance Mafla's campaign to shut down "torture clinics" that try to turn lesbians straight began years before she was appointed Ecuador's Minister for Public Health?
... that Ecuadorian presidential candidate Ximena Peña previously represented the United States and Canada in the National Assembly?