by Brooke Lorren

Created on: September 10, 2009   Last Updated: April 10, 2010

Ecuador is a beautiful country which is located in South America.  The equator, which it was named after, runs from East to West through the middle of the country.  The Andes Mountain range runs through this country from the North to the South.  Colombia is its neighbor to the north, Peru borders the country to the south and the east, and the Pacific Ocean borders the country to the west.  It is only one of two countries in South America that doesn't share a border with Brazil.  The Galápagos Islands, located 604 miles off the coast of Ecuador, are also a part of the country.  Ecuador is best known for its biodiversity, but there are many other aspects of this country that make it unique.

- Ecuador’s Natural Beauty and Plant Life -

Ecuador's diverse plant and animal live make this country a great place for nature lovers to visit.  Tourists visit the Galápagos Islands every year in order to see the unique animals located there.  95% of the Galapagos islands are part of the country’s national park system; the islands have also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  In 1835, Darwin stopped at the Galápagos Islands.  He came up with the theory of evolution after noticing the differences between the finches and tortoises on the various islands.  Conservation International lists Ecuador as one of only 18 megadiverse countries in the world.  On the continent, you can find 1,600 species of bird, 6,000 different kinds of butterfly, and 25,000 species of plants.

- Explorers Arrive in Ecuador -

The Incan Empire once dominated the region.  When the Spanish conquistadors arrived on the coast in 1531, the Incans were involved in a civil war.  The previous ruler of the Incan Empire, Huayna Capac, divided his empire between his two sons.  One son, Atahualpa, ruled the northern half of the empire from the capital city of Quito, and his brother ruled the southern half from Cusco.  Atahualpa wanted to conquer all of the empire, and was in the process of uniting the empire when Pizarro and his men arrived from Spain.  The Spaniards executed Atahualpa and overpowered the Incan people with their superior firepower.  They also introduced new diseases to the country, which led to further decimation of the native population.

- Political Changes to the Modern Country -

From the time that the Spaniards conquered the Incan empire in the 1500s until the

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