The western coastal area of Ecuador borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, encompasses a broad coastal plain, and then rises to the foothills of the Andes Mountains to the east. It is estimated that 98% of the native forest of coastal Ecuador has been eliminated in favor of cattle ranching and other agricultural production, including banana, cacao and coffee plantations. The forest fragments that still survive are primarily found along the coastal mountain ranges of Mache-Chindul, Jama-Coaque, and Chongon-Colonche, and include tropical dry forest, tropical wet forest, tropical moist evergreen forest, premontane cloud forest, and mangrove forest. Collectively known as the Pacific Equatorial Forest, these forest remnants are considered the most endangered tropical forest in the world, and are part of the Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena biodiversity hotspot . Guayaquil, located on the southern part of the coast is the biggest city in the country. On the north coast of Ecuador the port of Balao in Esmeraldas is used for oil export and the port of Manta was formerly used by the United States Air Force as a control point for narcotics traffic control until 2009. |