ECUADOR 



2788 



ECUADOR 



ECUADOR: ITS RISE AND PROGRESS 



F. A. Kirkpatrick, Author of South America and the War 



As in the case of other countries, this article describes the physical 



nature of the land before passing to its history, constitution, 



literature, etc. See South America, and the articles on the 



Chimborazo ; Cordilleras, and other features 



Republic of S. America, lying productive valleys of the moderate 

 between Colombia on the N. and heights ; the cool regions of the 



Peru on the S. 



Ecuador arms 



It is so named be- 

 cause the equa- 

 torial line runs 

 through the 

 country. Its 

 western shores, 

 500 m. in extent, 

 are washed by the 

 Pacific Ocean. 

 The Colombian 

 boundary was 



settled by treaty in 1917, but the 

 Peruvian frontier has not yet been 

 fixed. The republic embraces the 

 provinces of Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, 

 Carchi, Chimborazo, Esmeraldas, 

 Guayas, Imbabura, Leon, Loja, 

 Manabi, Oro, Pichincha, Los Rios, 

 Tungurahua, the territory of 

 Oriente, and the Galapagos archi- 

 pelago. Its area is approximately 

 116,000 sq. m., and its pop. about 

 2,000,000. 



The dominant geographical fea- 

 ture is the gigantic mountain sys- 

 tem which traverses the land from 

 N. to S. Two towering mountain 

 ramparts, the Eastern and Western 

 Cordilleras, run parallel to one 

 another, enclosing between them a 

 broad elevated valley, from 20 m. 

 to 50 m. wide, and 8,000 ft. to 

 10,000 ft. above sea level. This 

 trough is walled on cither side by 

 the famous " avenue of volcanoes," 

 above a score of peaks in a double 

 line, most of them rising far above 

 the snow line, sometimes facing 

 one another in pairs at heights 

 of from 16,000 to 19,000 ft. No 

 fewer than 20 of these summits 

 can be counted from Quito, the 

 capital, which stands on the cen- 

 tral plateau at a height of 8,400 ft. 

 The volcano of Pichincha (about 

 15,910 ft. ) is notable for its perilous 

 proximity to the capital ; but 

 most conspicuous among these 

 mountains is the perfectly sym- 

 metrical and dazzling cone of 

 Cotopaxi (19,600 ft.). Higher yet 

 soars the imposing snow-clad mass 

 of Chimborazo (20,500 ft.). And 

 above the snows, volcanic craters 

 emit their clouds and ashes. 

 Several of them are dormant, but 

 eruptions have been frequent since 

 the coming of the Spaniards, and 

 the whole region is subject to earth- 

 quake shocks and tremors. This 

 vast mountainous region presents 

 an endless variety of altitude and 

 climate : the torrid, forest-clad 

 plains bordering the lower spurs : 

 the warm, temperate, pleasant, and 



lofty plateau ; and, higher yet, 

 the paramos, or icy, wind-swept 

 plains and slopes approaching the 

 limit of perpetual snow. 



Although the mountains pre- 

 dominate, the greater part of 

 Ecuador lies in the forest-clad 

 plains which stretch to E. and W. 

 from the foot of the two Cordil- 

 leras. In fact, Ecuador has three 

 distinct zones : first, the coastal 



Through the towering wall of the 

 Western Cordillera, lofty passes 

 lead to the Andine plateau. From 

 this plateau steep and difficult 

 mountain passes lead eastwards, up 

 between the peaks of the Eastern 

 Cordillera, and then down along 

 twisted and precipitous river 

 valleys to the montana, where 

 scanty tribes of savage Indians 

 support life by hunting with the 

 blow-pipe and with poisoned ar- 

 rows. This is the most inaccessible 

 and least developed part of the 

 republic. 



This region resembles in its 

 character the forests of Brazil ; its 

 woods and waters are haunted by a 

 multitudinous variety of reptiles, 

 saurians, fishes, birds, and insects. 



plain ; then the Andine mountain Trees, lianas, flowering shrubs, and 

 system ; and then the montana, 

 the densely wooded region stretch- 

 ing into the interior from the base 

 of the Eastern Cordillera, and inter- 

 sected by the multitudinous upper 

 waters of Amazonian affluents. 



The most valuable and produc- 

 tive part of the country is the broad 

 coastal plain, richly tropical and 

 humid in character. This plain, 

 watered by innumerable streams 

 and originally covered by dense 

 forests, supports the extensive 

 plantations of cacao, which supply 



rich orchids grow in countless 

 varieties. Tha mammals include 

 jaguars, puma> tapirs, sloths, 

 bears, deer, and armadilloes. 



The volcanic group of the Gal- 

 apagos Islands lies on the Equator, 

 600' m. from the W. coast of S. 

 America. Named from the gigantic 

 tortoise (galapago) found on the 

 islands, they are remarkable for 

 the fact that about half the in- 

 digenous plants, all the reptiles, 

 and nearly all the birds are peculiar 

 to this archipelago. In the 17th 



Ecuador. Map of the South American republic which lies between Colombia 



on the north and Peru on the south. Its western shores are washed by 



the Pacific Ocean 



the chief part of Ecuador's exports, 

 besides plantations of bananas and 

 other tropical products. Numerous 

 streams, particularly those con- 

 nected with the port of Guayaquil, 

 provide access to the cacao plan- 

 tations. The forest is valuable for 

 its thickets of bamboo, and for the 

 various products yielded by many 

 kinds of palms, besides the palm- 

 like plant whose fibre is woven into 

 Panama hats. 



and 18th centuries the islands, 

 at that time uninhabited, were 

 the resort of buccaneers and pi- 

 rates. The government now main- 

 tains a penal settlement on the 

 largest island, about 60 in. in 

 length, and there are a few other 

 inhabitants. 



PEOPLE, LANGUAGE, ETC. The 

 population is of mixed origin, 

 descended partly from Spanish 

 settlers, partly from indigenous 



