Geography and Environment

            The tallest mountains in Ecuador stand over 5,000 meters high. There are ten major mountains and they are all snow-capped. Some of Ecuador’s major cities, including Quito, lie between two Andean volcanoes. This area is known as “the Valley of the Volcanoes.” Some of these volcanoes are still active today. From the expedition of La Condamine in the mid 1700s until early 1802, it was believed the Ecuadorian mountain Chimborazo was the highest mountain in the world. The biggest threat to these mountains and the memorable climbs they are home to is global warming. Many of the glaciers on the mountains have melted since the late 1900s, and they are expected to increase their rate of melting in the next couple decades.

            There are three major forest regions in Ecuador. They are the Pacific coast region, consisting of mangrove and tropical forests, the Andean alpine zones, consisting of hardwood, coniferous, and eucalyptus, and the Oriente, which connects to the Amazon Basin. All three of these regions have declined significantly in the last 50 years. The region that has been most affected is the Pacific, followed by the Andean, then the Oriente. Exploitation of and damage to the Ecuadorian forests began with Andean indigenous peoples and continued with European settlers. The deforestation in previous centuries was due to agriculture advancements and hacienda controls, but today much of it is due to urban expansion. The good news is many efforts are being made to reduce deforestation and its negative effects, and they are not in vain. Since the turn of the 21^st century, deforestation rates have slowed in many areas, but there is still much work to be done.

The Galápagos Islands are 1,000 kilometers from the coast of mainland Ecuador, making them unique in species populations and environment. The islands were made from volcanic eruptions millions of years ago, and since they are so far away from any other land, many of the lifeforms that evolved there are not found anywhere else in the world. It was Charles Darwin’s research and interest in the islands in the 1800s that popularized them. There are four main actions carried out by humans that affect the islands. Agriculture, although done on a small scale, has brought many insects and diseases not native to the islands and caused multiple breakouts of illnesses. High volumes of fishing have depleted a significant portion of the ocean population in and around the islands. Tourism causes problems because it increases the risk of foreign species and diseases being brought to the islands, and it brings heavy foot traffic that disrupts the flora and fauna. Conservation and upkeep of historical sights costs the islands about 14 million dollars a year.

From 1964 to 1990, the oil company Chevron—at that time going by the name of Texaco—dumped billions of gallons of toxic materials into Ecuadorian pits, streams, and rivers. This caused immense damage to the ecology of Ecuador, as well as damage to the lives of people in various areas that were affected. Ecuador has been in legal battles with the company to make them clean up their mess, but the company repeatedly eludes their responsibility. Lawyers and civilians in Ecuador are still working today to repair their damaged ecosystem and bring Chevron to justice.