Totorus

Photo credit by Rinaldo W.

Ecuador is divided into four geographical regions. The Galapagos Islands are found more than 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, in the Pacific Ocean. On the mainland, the high Central Plains formed by the Andes Mountains divide the dry, coastal areas of Ecuador from the tropical forests of the Amazon basin. In Ecuador these regions are known as Costa (the coast), Sierra (the mountains) and Oriente (or East, the Amazon basin).