Guayas Province

For other uses, see Guayas (disambiguation).
Guayas
Province
Province of Guayas

Flag

Coat of arms

Location of Guayas in Ecuador.

Cantons of Guayas Province
Country Ecuador
Established 1820
Capital Guayaquil
Cantons List of Cantons
Government
  Provincial Prefect Jimmy Jairala
Area
  Total 15,430.40 km2 (5,957.71 sq mi)
Population (2010 census)
  Total 3,645,483
  Density 240/km2 (610/sq mi)
Vehicle registration G
Website www.guayas.gob.ec
Palms on the Santay Island.

Guayas is a coastal province in Ecuador. It is bordered to the west by Manabí, Santa Elena, and the Pacific Ocean (as the Gulf of Guayaquil); 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.

With a population of over 3 million people, it is the most populous province in Ecuador. It is the seventh largest province in the country in terms of area. The largest city of Ecuador, Guayaquil, is located within the province.

Geography

Guayas' natural terrain is very diverse. The province has no elevations, except for the Coastal Range, which starts in Guayaquil and goes to Manabí. The areas west of the Coastal Range are desertic, with an average temperature of 23°C. The areas east of the range belong to the Guayas Watershed. They are quite humid and fertile, especially in the north of the province, with an average temperature of 30°C in the humid season (December–May) and 25°C in the dry season (June–November).

Hydrography

The most important river in the province is the Daule River, which flows from the north to join the Babahoyo River to form the Guayas river. The province is part of the largest river basin in South America west of the Andes Mountains.

Roads

Guayas has its own system for numbering roads. However, this system is unknown for most residents, so it is not regularly used.

The inter-provincial roads are also numbered with the national system. Even routes travel north-south; odd routes travel east-west. The inter-provincial roads that cross the province are the following:

History

Pre-Hispanic cultures

The native culture living in Guayas is the Huancavilca culture. Exactly before the European discovery of America, the Huancavilca Culture was living in the province. They are the ancestors of a large part of the population of the province.

Spanish conquest and independence

Guayaquil was founded on August 14, 1534 (its foundation is celebrated on July 25). During the Spanish conquest, Guayaquil became one of the most important ports in South America. The city became free on October 9, 1820, and the Guayaquil Department (one of the original subdivisions of Ecuador) was founded soon afterwards. It consisted of the Manabí Province, and the Guayaquil Province, which was later renamed Guayas. The Guayaquil Province included territory of what now is Peruvian Tumbes, and today's Los Ríos and El Oro. The provinces were separated from Guayas in 1860 and 1884, respectively.

Urbanization

Guayas is the most populous province in the country. In recent decades, there has been a massive exit from rural areas to the main cities (especially Guayaquil). This has created a problem in Guayaquil, as most of the migrants move to municipal areas, creating shantytowns, with no services like water or electricity.

Demographics

Guayas is the most populous province in the country. The estimated population of the province in 2003 was about 3,360,000 people. A large percentage of the population are mestizos, i.e. descendants of both Spanish and indigenous peoples, there are also big communities of people that descend from Italians, Lebanese and German people.

Ethnic groups as of the Ecuadorian census of 2010:[1]

Political divisions

The province is divided into 25 cantons. The following table lists each with its population at the time of the 2001 census, its area in square kilometres (km²), and the name of the canton seat or capital.[2]

Canton Pop. (2001) Area (km²) Seat/Capital
Alfredo Baquerizo Moreno (Jujan) 19,982 216 Alfredo Baquerizo Moreno (a.k.a. Jujan)
Balao 17,262 465 Balao
Balzar (San Jacinto de Balzar) 48,470 1,173 Balzar
Colimes 21,049 758 Colimes
Coronel Marcelino Maridueña 11,054 255 Coronel Marcelino Maridueña
Daule 85,148 462 Daule
Durán 178,714 339 Durán
El Empalme 64,789 711 El Empalme (a.k.a. Velasco Ibarra)
El Triunfo 34,117 389 El Triunfo
General Antonio Elizalde (Bucay) 8,696 152 General Antonio Elizalde (a.k.a. Bucay)
Guayaquil 2,039,789 5,237 Guayaquil
Isidro Ayora 8,226 492 Isidro Ayora
Lomas de Sargentillo 14,194 67 Lomas de Sargentillo
Milagro 140,103 401 Milagro
Naranjal 53,482 2,015 Naranjal
Naranjito 31,756 226 Naranjito
Nobol 14,753 128 Nobol (a.k.a. Narcisa de Jesús)
Palestina 14,067 194 Palestina
Pedro Carbo 36,711 927 Pedro Carbo
Playas (General Villamil Playas) 30,045 269 Playas (a.k.a. General Villamil Playas)
Salitre (was Urbina Jado) 50,379 390 El Salitre
Samborondón 45,476 388 Samborondón
Santa Lucía 33,868 348 Santa Lucía
Simón Bolívar 20,385 289 Simón Bolívar
Yaguachi 47,630 512 Yaguachi (San Jacinto de Yaguachi)

See also

References

  1. Cantons of Ecuador. Statoids.com. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
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Coordinates: 2°12′00″S 79°58′00″W / 2.2°S 79.9667°W / -2.2; -79.9667

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