Background Ecuador: republic in northwestern South America, bounded by colombia on the north b Peru on the east and south, and by the pacific Ocean on the west. The country also includes the Galapagos islands( Colon Archipelago in the Pacific, about 965 km (about 600 mi west of the mainland. Ecuador straddles the equator (Ecuador is the Spanish word forequator )and has an area of 272, 045 sq km(105,037 sq ) Quito is the country's capitalEcuador：republic in northwestern South America，bounded by Colombia on the north，by Peru on the east and south，and by the Pacific Ocean on the west．The country also includes the Galapagos islands（Colon Archipelago）in the Pacific，about 965 km（about 600 mi）west of the mainland． Ecuador straddles the equator （Ecuador is the Spanish word for“equator”） and has an area of 272,045 sq km（105,037 sq mi）． Quito is the country’s capital． Background