The countryside in the southerly areas of the plain look similar - though it becomes flatter and drier. If one goes from the equator in a southern direction, the cold Humboldt current gains on influence. The air masses over the pacific are far cooler and drier, inland there is far less rain. Dry forests, savannahs and desert-like regions are found here (The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests, IUCN, 1996).

The Sierra
Two chains of the Andes of Ecuador with 30 volcanoes traverses from north to south: the "Cordillera Occidental" in the west and the higher "Cordillera Oriental" in the East. The highest mountain is the Chimbaroza (6310 m) followed by the Cotopaxi (5897 m).
Between the two Andean cordilleras lies the so-called "Altiplano", the inner Andean highland basin at 1800 to 3200 m. It is 500 km long and between 20 and 30 km wide.
Already prior to the Incas this land was agriculturally used due to the mild climate and the ground fertilised by volcanic ash. The only obstacle was the unwelcoming terrain, which led to the construction of terraces on the mountain slopes. The second highest capital in the world is situated in the north of this basin: Quito at an altitude of 2850 m.