Cloud Forest

Ecuador's cloud forest in the northwest of the country exists because warm ocean water (and with it, warm air) flows from Asia and hits the Central American isthmus. This current of humidity then moves south, creating the wet, hot atmosphere of the Amazon rainforest. To complicate matters, the Andes mountain range creates a wall to the west of the Amazon. Further to the west, on the other side of the mountain range, the Andean foothills receive residual precipitation and have steep elevations. Cold currents moving north from Antarctica meet with all this madness and results in a distinct climate.