Exquisite Ecuador Trivia Quiz

Answer: Desert

The Pacific coastline makes up the western part of Ecuador. This region has the lion's share of the plantations: banana, cacao and coffee. In the south of the coastal region lies Ecuador's biggest city, Guayaquil.

In the centre there is the Sierra, or the mountainous terrain which is part of the Andes mountain range. There are several active volcanoes within this region. Capital Quito is located in the north of this region, on the foothills of the Pinchera Volcano.

The Amazon Rain Forest (also called 'Amazonia' or 'El Oriente') makes up the western part. Several parts of the rainforest are polluted by oil spills. Oil accounts for about 40% of Ecuador's export, and all oil sources are found within the Amazon region.

About 1,000 km (620 mi) west from Ecuador's coast there is also an insular region: the Galapagos Islands. There are no desert regions in Ecuador.

Answer: True

In 1736, a group of French scientists came to Ecuador in order to measure the roundness of the Earth. To do this they had to determine the exact location of the equator. However, they made a small mistake in their calculations and the real equator lies about 240 meter north of the determined spot.

To commemorate the expedition, a large monument, with a big metal globe on top, was constructed. A yellow line was drawn on the place where they thought the equator was. Many tourists think they have their picture taken on the equator. Around the monument a whole village was built with museums, souvenir shops and restaurants.

In the small village of Cayambe, south-east of Otavalo, you can find a much smaller monument that is really on the equator.

Answer: True

The Cayambe Volcano is located 70 km (43 mi) north-east of Quito. The equator runs over its southern slope, at a height of 4,690 m (15,387 ft), where it crosses one of Cayambe's glaciers. There the equator reaches its highest point on Earth and the only place where there is snow.

The Cayambe is the third highest mountain of Ecuador with an elevation of 5,790 m (18,996 ft).

Answer: Yes, Chimborazo.

Because the earth is a oblate spheroid rather than a perfect sphere the mountains close to the equator are farther away from its centre. An oblate spheroid is a sphere that is wider at the equator and narrower at the poles. Imagine you're holding a ball in your hands and you're applying pressure on the top and bottom. The ball will become wider in the middle.

The Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador with an elevation of 6,268 m (20,564 ft) measured from sea level. Because of its location close to the equator, where the earth bulges the most, it is the highest mountain measured from the centre of the earth.

The Cotopaxi is the second highest mountain of Ecuador with an elevation of 5,897 m (19,347 ft).

Answer: Peru

When Ecuador declared its independence from Spain in 1822, it joined the modern countries of Colombia, Venezuela and Panama into a short-lived federation called the Republic of Gran Colombia. In 1821, Peru had also declared its independence from Spain. Because in colonial times the borders between the viceroyalties of Peru and New Granada (of which Ecuador was part) had never been precisely determined, the newly formed countries soon fell out over where their borders should be.

In 1828, Gran Colombia and Peru fought a war to determine their borders. When Ecuador became fully independent after Gran Colombia was dissolved in 1830, it inherited the territorial disputes with Peru.

For most of the 19th and early 20th centuries Ecuador and Peru fought on and off wars over the disputed territories. To make matters more complicated Peru and Colombia started a war over their border dispute in 1932. The following agreement in 1933 conflicted with what Ecuador claimed as their territory so the conflict with Peru resurfaced. Finally in 1942 the 'Rio Protocol' was signed in which Ecuador agreed to drop its claim to direct access to the Maraņon and Amazon rivers. As a result, an area of 200,000 sq km (77,000 sq mi) of disputed territory was awarded to Peru.

However, from the 1960s on Ecuador disputed the Rio Protocol and new wars broke out in 1981 and 1995. Finally, the modern borders were agreed upon in a peace treaty in 1998.

Answer: Francisco de Orellana

In 1541, an expedition consisting of 220 conquistadors, 4,000 native carriers and hundreds of horses set out from Quito to discover the lands to the east. Their goal wasn't to discover 'El Dorado' (the land of gold) as is often claimed but 'the land of cinnamon'. The expedition was led by Gonzalo Pizarro, governor of Quito and brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca empire. De Orellana was one of Gonzalo's lieutenants.

After the expedition had crossed the Andes, the explorers had to hack their way through the dense rain forest at a snail's pace. Many died from disease and malnutrition. As travelling over land seemed impossible, they made a raft to sail the river Coca. De Orellana was sent ahead with 57 men to scout and look for food.

After a couple of days the party discovered that the current was too strong to return so they continued to sail downstream and abandoned the others. Some say that the strong current was just an excuse made up by de Orellana to claim the discoveries for himself.

From the Coca they reached the River Napo and eventually the Amazon proper. Along the way they made contact with various local tribes, some who were friendly and helped them with food and shelter, and some who were hostile. After he had returned to Spain, de Orellana told fantastic stories about being attacked by a fierce band of female warriors, hence the name 'Amazon' (named after the female warriors in Greek mythology). After an eight month journey, the 47 survivors reached the mouth of the Amazon.

Meanwhile Gonzalo Pizarro barely made it back to Quito and, furious about being abandoned, he accused de Orellana of treason and desertion, a crime punishable by death. De Orellana went back to Spain to claim governorship for the lands he had discovered. After he had obtained permission to conquer those lands he set sail for a second expedition which turned out to be a complete failure. De Orellana died of illness in 1546.

Answer: Panama hat

Panama hats are made from the toquilla straw plant (Carludovica palmata) whose flexible and durable fibre makes them excellent for weaving. In the 19th century they were first shipped to Panama where they were distributed to their final destinations, hence the misleading name.

The quality of the hat depends on the number of weaves and the quality of the weaves itself. Superfine Panama hats from the regions of Cuenca or Montecristi can cost up to several thousand dollars.

Answer: Ingapirca

The site consists of two parts. The oldest part is the remains of buildings of the Caņari tribe who were the original inhabitants of the region. When the Incas conquered the region, they added some of their typical buildings to the site. Ingapirca means 'the walls of the Inca', and probably served as a resting place along the main Inca road. The main building is a temple dedicated to the sun.

Although small compared to some sites in Peru, Ingapirca is the most important Inca site in Ecuador. The three other sites are all in Peru.

Answer: Shrunken heads

Some tribes used to cut off the heads of their defeated enemies and used them as a trophy, to incite fear or even for trade. It takes the severed head a year of treatment before it's shrunken to the proper size.

A couple of tsantsas are on display in the Museo del Banco Central in Cuenca and in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.

Answer: From the seeds

The fruit of the ivory palm tree usually contains four seeds. The mature seeds are very hard and can be polished and carved like elephant ivory. Objects made from vegetable ivory are hard to distinguish from those made of elephant ivory.

This question's source is waynesword.palomar.edu, where you can find more information on how vegetable ivory can help preserve both elephants and the rainforest.