Thursday, August 9, 2007

Ecuador: There is no "Q" in the name!!

Ecuador!



Hard Facts:

Capital: Quito
Main cities: Principal cities: Guayaquil, Quito, and Cuenca



Population: 13,755,680 (as of July 2007)

Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru

Official Language: Spanish, but also Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)

Official currency: The almighty US dollar!


Climate: tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands

Terrain: Ranges from coastal lands, mountain ranges, and Amazon rainforest. One of 17 Megadiverse countries.

Noted factoids:
Galapagos Islands are a part of Ecuador. Some famous scientist guy was obsessed with the place.



Over 40 indigenous tribal cultures have been documented in Ecuador.


Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower

Religion: 95% Catholic

Exports: oil, bananas, flowers and shrimp


Natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, floods and periodic droughts. Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world.


Panama Hat invention of Ecuador- not Panama!


In Ecuador, Tuesday the 13th is considered a very unlucky day. No one should ever get married or travel on that day.

Formerly a part of the Inca Empire, conquered by the Spanish in 1533, gained independence around 1830, currently celebrating 28 years of unstable civilian democratic government.


Thousands of Columbians seek refuge in Ecuador to escape violence in their home country.

Ecuador qualified for the world cup finals in 2002 and 2006.


Ecuador won its first Olympic gold medal in 1996- Jefferson PĂ©rez, on the 20 km race-walk.

Foods vary by region, but guinea pig or “cuy” is a frequent food on special occasions.


PC ownership: 20.3 computers per 1,000 people

In Minnesota:

There is an estimated 10 to 15,000 Ecuadorians living in the Twin Cities.

The Guayaquil Restaurant at Bloomington Ave and Lake Street is fantastic, and actually has a tasty American style breakfast.


6 comments:

sarah said...

i learned something new today. thanks missy! my favorite high school teacher, mr. gilbert (environmental science) loved ecuador. he would be so proud of you. i want to check out the resturaunt too!

David Oppegaard said...

I have a bunch of maps in my office. You can come over and read then if you want.

Missy said...

Thanks Dave, I will be right over!

And you should all check out the restaurant. I live right by it, so I could join you if you'd like! Try the goat stew, yum and mMmMmaaaaaah!

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

I love this blog already. How about doing a post on Finland and New Zealand?

sarah said...

vietnam! do vietnam next. andy is going there in september, and i need a 101.

Unknown said...

what gerks! they eat guineapigs! ive got two myself, how would they like it if we ate them? :(