Ecuador is often called a 'megadiversity hotspot' because of the large number of diverse plants and animals species that live here. With four distinct regions in the country, Ecuador has four different environments unique to each region!
The environment of Ecuador is special because there are four completely different environments all in this one country.
First, it has a coastal region which is in the western part of the country. The west coast of Ecuador touches the Pacific ocean. Next is the highlands which is the entire middle of the country. It is called the highlands because it is where the Andes mountains runs through Ecuador. The elevation of cities in the highlands is really high! Next, Ecuador contains rainforest. The Amazon Rainforest spans across the entire east part of the country, but most of this area uninhabited by humans. The unique plants and animals there are protected by the government. The last region is the Galapagos Islands, which consists of a group of a 13 islands that are about 800 miles off shore of Ecuador. These islands are also protected by the government because of the unique animals that can be found there like the Galapagos tortoise (I talked about this creature in my Nature Field Note).
