Which mountain appears on Ecuador's coat of arms, shown on its flag?

Chimborazo is the mountain shown on Ecuador’s coat of arms, which appears on the country’s state flag. The shield depicts the mountain behind the source of a river, identified as the Guayas River.

Chimborazo is Ecuador’s highest mountain, rising to about 6,263 metres in the Andes. Because Earth bulges around the equator, its summit is also the point on Earth’s surface farthest from the planet’s centre, even though Mount Everest is higher above sea level.

The emblem contains more than a mountain. The river leads to the steamship Guayas, a symbol of navigation and commerce, while a golden sun and zodiac signs appear above. A condor crowns the shield, and laurel and palm branches represent victory and the sacrifices made for independence.

The coat of arms was finalized in 1900. Ecuador’s plain tricolour is commonly used as the civil flag, while the version bearing the coat of arms is used for official and state purposes. Pichincha and Cotopaxi are also famous Ecuadorian volcanoes, but neither is the mountain depicted on the emblem.