Galapagos Case

The variety of the ecosystems and the landscapes in Ecuador is impressive. Despite the fact that Ecuador is the smallest of the Andean countries, it is filled with physical and cultural diversity. The country is divided into three different regions, the Andean range which is Ecuador’s highest peak, runs from north to south, dividing the country in two, the coastal lowlands, and the eastern jungles of the Amazon Basin. Throughout these three regions there are ten different ecosystems, six located in the mainland and four in the Galapagos Islands. These differences are directly related to each region’s location, climate, altitude, and geographical history. The following paper talks about the uniqueness of Ecuador, and how a country as small as this one, can have such a wide variety of habitats due to its location.

Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border with Brazil. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 620 miles west of the mainland. Ecuador has a rich cultural heritage. It used to form part of the Inca Empire, a large political unit of pre-Columbian America, until it was conquered by the Spaniards. In 1820 Ecuador achieved its independence with the help of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan liberator (Rachowiecki & Palmerlee, 2003). Economically, Ecuador became known for exporting Panama hats and agricultural products like cacao, bananas, and flowers. It is a major exporter of petroleum and an increasingly important tourist destination (Ecuador, 2012).

The climate in Ecuador is not quite what we would call a normal four season year; it consists of only two different seasons, a wet and a dry season that vary among the different geographical regions. The Galapagos Islands and the coastal areas are directly influenced by ocean currents. These central Pacific currents cause a hot, rainy and humid season from January through April. From May to December, the currents from the south keep the climate cooler, and although there are fewer chances of rain, it is usually gray, damp and cloudy. In the Highlands, the dry season starts in June and remains all through September, and in the Oriente, it rains during most of the year especially in the afternoon. The climate in Ecuador is so unpredictable that the locals have a special saying, “all four seasons can be experienced in one day, and the most predictable aspect of Ecuador’s weather is its unpredictability.” (Rachowiecki & Palmerlee, 2003)

As stated above, Ecuador has many different habitats. Ecologists have developed a system called Holdridge Life Zones that helps them identify the type of vegetation that can be found in a given area. This system uses climatic data such as, temperature and rainfall, and combines it