Ecuador vs. Colombia
Geography
| Ecuador | Colombia | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama |
| Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 77 30 W | 4 00 N, 72 00 W |
| Map references | South America | South America |
| Area | total: 283,561 sq km land: 276,841 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands | total: 1,138,910 sq km land: 1,038,700 sq km water: 100,210 sq km note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, and Serrana Bank |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Nevada | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,237 km border countries (2): Colombia 708 km, Peru 1529 km | total: 6,672 km border countries (5): Brazil 1790 km, Ecuador 708 km, Panama 339 km, Peru 1494 km, Venezuela 2341 km |
| Coastline | 2,237 km | 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm note: Ecuador has declared its right to extend its continental shelf to 350 nm measured from the baselines of the Galapagos Archipelago | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands | tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands |
| Terrain | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) | flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains (Llanos) |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 1,117 m note: because the earth is not a perfect sphere and has an equatorial bulge, the highest point on the planet farthest from its center is Mount Chimborazo not Mount Everest, which is merely the highest peak above sea level | highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,730 m lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 593 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower |
| Land use | agricultural land: 29.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 4.7% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 5.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 19.4% (2018 est.) forest: 38.9% (2018 est.) other: 31.4% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 37.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 1.4% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 34.5% (2018 est.) forest: 54.4% (2018 est.) other: 8.1% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 15,000 sq km (2012) | 10,900 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | frequent earthquakes; landslides; volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts volcanism: volcanic activity concentrated along the Andes Mountains; Sangay (5,230 m), which erupted in 2010, is mainland Ecuador's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes in the Andes include Antisana, Cayambe, Chacana, Cotopaxi, Guagua Pichincha, Reventador, Sumaco, and Tungurahua; Fernandina (1,476 m), a shield volcano that last erupted in 2009, is the most active of the many Galapagos volcanoes; other historically active Galapagos volcanoes include Wolf, Sierra Negra, Cerro Azul, Pinta, Marchena, and Santiago | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts volcanism: Galeras (4,276 m) is one of Colombia's most active volcanoes, having erupted in 2009 and 2010 causing major evacuations; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Nevado del Ruiz (5,321 m), 129 km (80 mi) west of Bogota, erupted in 1985 producing lahars (mudflows) that killed 23,000 people; the volcano last erupted in 1991; additionally, after 500 years of dormancy, Nevado del Huila reawakened in 2007 and has experienced frequent eruptions since then; other historically active volcanoes include Cumbal, Dona Juana, Nevado del Tolima, and Purace |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands | deforestation resulting from timber exploitation in the jungles of the Amazon and the region of Chocó; illicit drug crops grown by peasants in the national parks; soil erosion; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Geography - note | note 1: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world note 2: genetic research indicates that the cherry-sized tomato originated in Ecuador without any human domestication; later domestication in Mexico transformed the plant into the large modern tomato; archeological research indicates that the cacao tree, whose seeds are used to make chocolate and which was long thought to have originated in Mesoamerica, was first domesticated in the upper Amazon region of northwest South America - present-day Ecuador - about 3,300 B.C. | only South American country with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea |
| Total renewable water resources | 442.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 2.36 trillion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | nearly half of the population is concentrated in the interior in the Andean intermontane basins and valleys, with large concentrations also found along the western coastal strip; the rainforests of the east remain sparsely populated | the majority of people live in the north and west where agricultural opportunities and natural resources are found; the vast grasslands of the llanos to the south and east, which make up approximately 60% of the country, are sparsely populated |
Source: CIA Factbook
