* Norteño is an alcoholic beverage ( aguardiente ) from Ecuador

In Ecuador, aguardiente is the most commonly consumed strong alcohol.

** Eunectes murinus, the green anaconda, the largest species, is found east of the Andes in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and on the island of Trinidad.

* 1557 – Cuenca is founded in Ecuador.

Ayahuasca is the Hispanicized spelling of a word in the Quechua languages, which are spoken in the Andean states of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia.

About 15 % of the population is foreign, most of them immigrants from Argentina, Ecuador, and Colombia who have arrived in the previous 10 years.

Abacá ( ; from Spanish " abacá " for Musa textilis ), Musa textilis, is a species of banana native to the Philippines, grown as a commercial crop in the Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.

Today, abaca is produced commercially in only three countries: Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.

In 1969, Colombia formed what is now the Andean Community along with Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru ( Venezuela joined in 1973, and Chile left in 1976 ).

Pan-American Cheerleading Championships ( PCC ): The PCC was held for the first time in 2009 in the city of Latacunga, Ecuador and is the continental championship organised by the Pan-American Federation of Cheerleading ( PFC ).

* 1534 – The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by Sebastián de Belalcázar.

The Spanish founded modern day Quito and Guayaquil as part of the political-administration era which lasted until the war of Independence, the rise of Gran Colombia and Simón Bolívar to the final separation of his vision into what is known today as the Republic of Ecuador.

Ecuador is a country in western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, for which the country is named.

Cotopaxi in Ecuador is one of the world's highest active volcanos.

Ecuador is bounded on the north by the Pacific Ocean, and has 2, 337 km of coastline.

Ecuador has a total area is, including the Galápagos Islands.

Ecuador is one of the smaller countries in South America, slightly smaller than the U. S. state of Nevada.

Ecuador is divided into three continental regions — the Costa ( coast ), Sierra ( mountains ), and Oriente ( east )— and one insular region, the Galápagos Islands ( officially Archipiélago de Colón ).

The census in Ecuador is conducted every 10 years, and its objective is to obtain the number of people residing within its borders.

Politics of Ecuador takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Ecuador is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system.

The economy of Ecuador is based mostly on exports of bananas, oil, shrimp, gold, other primary agricultural products and money transfers from nearly a million Ecuadorian emigrants employed abroad.

Ecuador is the world's largest exporter of bananas ($ 936. 5 million in 2002 ) and a major exporter of shrimp ($ 251 million in 2002 ).

In the agricultural sector, Ecuador is a major exporter of bananas ( first place worldwide in production and export ), flowers, and the eighth largest producer of cocoa.

The Military of Ecuador is under civilian control.

Chile also concluded preferential trade agreements with Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Regional treaties include the Andean Pact, now known as the Andean Community, which also includes Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, the bodies and institutions making up the Andean Integration System ( AIS ).

As a result, Ecuador became the District of the South within the Republic of Gran Colombia, which also included present-day Venezuela and Colombia and had Bogotá as its capital.

Much of the century was also dominated with the relations between Peru and Ecuador.

On 5 July 2008 a meeting took place between Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador regarding a railway for freight and passengers to link the three countries, and linking the Pacific with the Atlantic also.

Environmental protection is also a priority, several programmes were implemented: " National Forestation and Ornamentation ", " Lonely Tree ", " Green Surveillance ", " Fire Plan ", " Ecuador Forest " and " Arenillas Military Reserve ".

Ecuador purchased also Type 209 submarines and Lürssen-Seawolf TNC 45 patrol boats from West Germany.

Ecuador reportedly also employed Israeli security specialists as consultants in the fight against terrorism.

Ecuador is a founding member of the UN and a member of many of its specialized agencies ; it is also a member of the OAS.

Ecuador has also been an elective member of the UN Security Council.

This also creates ocean upwelling off the coasts of Peru and Ecuador and brings nutrient-rich cold water to the surface, increasing fishing stocks.

Being a part of the male dress, it also has a part in the cultural expressions of the coastal rural regions of Ecuador, such as dances, horsetaming contests and skill exhibitions.

Castro and Chavez have also been joined with the radical socialist agenda of Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa of Ecuador.

For example, it is used in French presidential, legislative, and cantonal elections, and also to elect the presidents of Afghanistan, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Liberia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, Uruguay, Zimbabwe — see: Table of voting systems by nation.

* July 5-meeting between Venezuela, Colombia ( Colombia ) and Ecuador ( Ecuador ) regarding a railway for freight and passengers to link the three countries, and linking the Pacific with the Atlantic also.

* October 9, 1820 – Guayaquil declares independence from Spain ( see also History of Ecuador ).

Taco Bell is also present in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Guam, Aruba, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and on AAFES military bases in Japan, Germany, Iraq, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Mortadella is also very popular in Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela, thanks to the Italian immigrants who settled in these countries in the early 20th century.

The pro-Albanian camp would start to function as an international group as well, led by Enver Hoxha and the APL, and was also able to amalgamate many of the communist groups in Latin America, including the Communist Party of Brazil and Marxist-Leninist Communist Party in Ecuador.

Striped bass have also been introduced into waters in Ecuador, Iran, Latvia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey primarily for sport fishing and aquaculture.

Coca has also been a vital part of the religious cosmology of the Andean peoples of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and northern Argentina and Chile from the pre-Inca period through the present.

It is one of the best known fruits of Southeast Asia and is also widely cultivated elsewhere in the tropics including Africa, the Caribbean islands, Costa Rica, Panama, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka ; it is also produced in Ecuador where it is known as " achotillo " and on the island of Puerto Rico .. Thailand is the largest producer from Surat Thani Province Thailand.

It continues to be a major part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, particularly in the Andes Mountains highlands ; it is also eaten in some areas of Ecuador ( mainly in the Sierra ) and Colombia.