Loja Province is one of 24 provinces in Ecuador and shares its southern border on the west with El Oro Province, on the north with El Azuay, and on the east with Zamora-Chinchipe. Founded on its present site in 1548 by Captain Alonso de Mercadillo (Spanish), the site had been previously moved and rebuilt from La Toma due to earthquakes. It also is named as "Cuxibamba Valley", from the Quichua language, which means the "Smiley Valley".
Loja, formerly Loxa and fully City of the Immaculate Conception of Loja, is the capital of Ecuador's Loja Province. It is located in the Cuxibamba valley in the south of the country, sharing borders with the provinces of Zamora-Chinchipe and other cantons of the province of Loja. Loja holds a rich tradition in the arts, and for this reason is known as the Music and Cultural Capital of Ecuador. The city is home to two major universities.
The Chinchipe River is a river on the border between Ecuador and Peru. It rises in Ecuador, in the Zamora-Chinchipe Province, in the Podocarpus National Park. Then it flows through the Piura Region, and the Cajamarca Region in the San Ignacio Province of Peru. The river flows into the Maranon River.
The Tropical Andes is northern of the three climate-delineated parts of the Andes, the others being the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes. The Tropical Andes' area spans 1,542,644 km2 (595,618 sq mi).
Cayambe Coca National Park is a national park in Ecuador located along the Equator about 38 km (24 mi) from Quito. The park encompasses an area of 4,031.03 km2.
The royal sunangel is an endangered species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Atelopus pachydermus is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in the Andes of northern Peru and southern Ecuador. Records from Colombia reflect the vagueness of the stated type locality, "Neu-Granada", encompassing territory part of several present-day countries. Other records outside the current range refer to other species. The most recent record of this very rare and possibly extinct species is from around 1995. However, there is a need to reassess the status of this species because of confusion with Atelopus podocarpus.
Pristimantis pataikos is a species of frog in the family Strabomantidae. It is known from two locations, one in the Amazonas Region in northern Peru and the other one in nearby Zamora-Chinchipe Province in southern Ecuador. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forest at elevations of 1,800–3,470 m (5,910–11,380 ft) asl. It is threatened by habitat loss. The location in Ecuador is within the Podocarpus National Park.
Pristimantis versicolor is a species of frog in the family Strabomantidae.
The northern pudu is a species of South American deer native to the Andes of Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador. It is the world's smallest deer and is classified as Data Deficient in the IUCN Red List.
Axinaea sclerophylla is a species of tree in the family Melastomataceae. It is endemic to Ecuador, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
Yacurí National Park is a 431-square-kilometre (166 sq mi) National Park in Ecuador located on the border between the provinces Loja and Zamora Chinchipe. It is part of a larger Protected Forest of 733 km2 (283 sq mi). It was founded in 2009. The headwaters for both the Chinchipe-Mayo (east) and Catamayo-Chira (west) water basins are in the park.
Anolis podocarpus is a species of anole lizard in the family Dactyloidae. It was first described by Fernando P. Ayala-Varela and Omar Torres-Carvajal in 2010, the type locality being the Podocarpus National Park at Romerillos Alto in Zamora-Chinchipe Province, Ecuador on the southeastern slopes of the Andes. The specific name refers to the Podocarpus trees which are found in the Park.
Anomomorpha lecanorina is a rare species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in southern Ecuador, where it grows in montane forests at altitudes of 2,000–2,500 metres (6,600–8,200 ft), it was described as new to science in 2011. The specific epithet lecanorina denotes the resemblance of its fruit bodies to those of the genus Lecanora.
Ecuador is a country with vast natural and cultural wealth. The diversity of its four regions has resulted in hundreds of thousands of species of flora and fauna. It has about 1640 species of birds. The species of butterflies line the 4,500, the 345 reptiles, 358 amphibians and 258 mammals, among others. Ecuador is considered one of the 17 countries where the greatest biodiversity of the planet is concentrated. Most of its flora and fauna live in 26 areas protected by the State. It also offers historical attractions such as Quito, food and a variety of cultures and traditions.
Hagnagora richardi is a species of moth of the family Geometridae first described by Gunnar Brehm in 2015. It is only known from a small region around Podocarpus National Park in Zamora-Chinchipe and Loja provinces in Ecuador.
The Northern Andean páramo (NT1006) is an ecoregion containing páramo vegetation above the treeline in the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador. In the past, when the climate was cooler, the treeline and the páramo units were lower and the units were connected. During the present warmer Holocene epoch the páramos have migrated uphill, shrinking and becoming isolated. They contain many rare or endangered species, some of them restricted to a narrow area of one mountain or mountain range. The ecoregion is relatively well preserved, but faces threats from over-grazing and farming.
The Cordillera Central páramo (NT1004) is an ecoregion containing páramo vegetation above the treeline in the Andes mountain range of northern Peru and southern Ecuador. Due to its isolation there are high levels of endemism. Despite many human settlements and some destruction of habitat by agriculture and mining, the ecoregion is relatively intact.
The Northwestern Andean montane forests (NT0145) is an ecoregion on the Andes mountains in the west of Colombia and Ecuador. Both flora and fauna are highly diverse due to effect of ice ages when the warmer climate zones were separated and the cooler ones combined, and interglacial periods when the reverse occurred. Because the environment is hospitable to humans, the habitat has been drastically modified by farming and grazing since the Pre-Columbian era.
The Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests (NT0121) is an ecoregion in the eastern range of the Andes of southern Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru. The ecoregion covers the eastern slopes of the Andes, and includes montane forest that rises from the Amazonian rain forest, with cloud forest and elfin forest at higher elevations. It is rich in species, including many endemics. It is threatened by logging and conversion for pasturage and subsistence agriculture.
