Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (621 mi) west of the mainland. The country's capital is Quito, but its largest city is Guayaquil.
Guayaquil, officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is located on the west bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil.
Guayas is a coastal province in Ecuador. It is bordered to the west by Manabí, Santa Elena, and the Pacific Ocean ; to the east by Los Ríos, Bolívar, Chimborazo, Cañar, and Azuay; to the north by Los Ríos and Bolívar; and to the south by El Oro and the Pacific Ocean.
Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces. The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are:
The Guayas River also called Rio Guayas is a major river in western Ecuador. It gives name to Guayas Province and is the most important river in South America that does not flow into the Atlantic Ocean or any of its marginal seas. Its total length, including the Daule River, is 389 km (241 mi). The Guayas River's drainage basin is 34,500 km2 and it has an average discharge of 70,000 cu ft/s. It is the national river of Ecuador and is present on the coat of arms of Ecuador.
Samborondon is a parish and town in Ecuador’s Guayas province. It is the seat of Samborondón Canton, which consist of 105 localities and two urban parishes and Samborondón Town and one rural parish (Tarifa). La Puntilla's parish is one of the most exclusive residential and entertainment districts in Ecuador. It has many Gated Communities, and several retail developments are located in the suburb. Its close proximity to the country's largest city, Guayaquil, allows many of its residents to work there. Most of the upper-class families in Guayaquil live at La Puntilla's Parish in Samborondón.
San Francisco de Milagro is a city located in Guayas, Ecuador. It is the seat of Milagro Canton.
El Empalme is a town in Guayas, Ecuador, near Los Ríos and Manabí provinces. It is the seat of El Empalme Canton, the northernmost canton in Guayas, created in 1971.
Balzar is a city located in northern Guayas Province, Ecuador, on the Daule River, near Los Ríos Province. It is the seat of Balzar Canton, and the agricultural center in northern Guayas.
Durán, also known as Eloy Alfaro, is the second largest city in the province of Guayas, Ecuador and the seat of Durán Canton. It is located near the confluence of the Daule & Babahoyo rivers, where the Guayas River enters the ocean, across the Guayas River from Guayaquil. The name "Eloy Alfaro" was chosen because of the Ecuadorian ex-president Eloy Alfaro Delgado. According to the National census in 2022, the city had a population of 295,211. Many of its inhabitants commute to other places for work and it can be considered a "dormitory town". However, many people who live in Durán find work within the canton by opening "comedores" or small restaurants, selling produce at the market, or even opening little stores with basic produce and house necessities. The towns Durán, Samborondón, and Guayaquil are connected by the bridge Rafael Mendoza Avilés.
Babahoyo, founded May 27, 1948, by legislative decree, is the capital of the Los Ríos province of Ecuador. Its population is cited around 98,000. It is bordered by two rivers, the San Pablo and the Caracol, which join to form the Babahoyo River. This meets the Daule River to form the Guayas River, which runs to the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil.
Club Deportivo Audaz Octubrino is a professional football club from Machala, Ecuador that currently plays in the Segunda Categoría, the third tier of Football in Ecuador. Its stadium is called "9 de Mayo" and has a capacity of about 10,000 people.
Daule, is a canton located in the Guayas province in Ecuador. Created in 1820, it is one of the most important parts of Guayas thanks to its rice production and other products such as corn and eggs.
Miss Ecuador is a national beauty pageant in Ecuador. The current Miss Ecuador is Delary Stoffers from Guayaquil. She won the title on July 1, 2023, and represented Ecuador at Miss Universe 2023.
Palestina Canton is a Canton located in northern Guayas, Ecuador, created in 1988. Palestina Canton has a population of 18,019, and its nearby cities are Santa Lucía, Daule, Colimes and Balzar. The town of Palestina is located 80 km north of Guayaquil, at the Northern Centre of the province. The canton occupies a territory of 186.6 km2.
Pedro Carbo Canton is a land-locked coastal canton located in Guayas Province in Ecuador, near Manabí Province. Its capital is the town of Pedro Carbo. It is located at the 63 kilometer marker on the road from Guayaquil to Manabí. It is the seat of Pedro Carbo Cantón, founded in 1984. As of the census of 2001, there are 36,711 people residing within canton limits. A new census was conducted in 2010 but results are yet unknown. The city is named after Pedro Carbo Noboa, a 19th-century politician, diplomat and writer from Guayaquil.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was reported to have spread to Ecuador on 29 February 2020, when a woman in her 70s tested positive for the virus. Ecuador was described in April as emerging as a possible "epicentre" of the pandemic in Latin America, with the city of Guayaquil overwhelmed to the point where bodies were being left in the street.
The Litoral Penitentiary, known officially as Center for Social Rehabilitation of Men No. 1 of Guayaquil is the largest prison in Ecuador. It is located 16.5 km (10.3 mi) from Vía a Daule, on the outskirts of Guayaquil. The prison has twelve pavilions and has a capacity of five thousand inmates, although by July 2021 it housed around ten thousand. It is part of the Guayas Penitentiary Complex, which also includes the Guayas Regional Rehabilitation Center, La Roca Prison and the Provisional Detention Center.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Daule is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Daule, Ecuador. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of metropolitan Guayaquil in Ecuador.
The Free Province of Guayaquil was a South American state that emerged between 1820 and 1822 with the independence of the province of Guayaquil from the Spanish monarchy. The free province had a provisional government and constitution until its annexation by Gran Colombia in 1822. Its successor was the Department of Guayaquil forming part of Gran Colombia.
The Spanish province of Guayaquil had been separated from the Viceroyalty of Peru and in those days it only depended legally on the court of the Real Audiencia de Quito. About a decade later, the Departments of Guayaquil, Azuay, and Ecuador separated from Gran Colombia forming the current Ecuador.
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