ECUADOR 



1920 



ECUADOR 



day possess these virtues in a high degree. 

 They believe in, education and have not only 

 provided it, but have made it compulsory. 

 Their police service is one of the most effi- 

 cient in South America. Appreciation of lit- 

 erature and art is shown in their national 

 library, astronomical observatory, conservatory 

 of music, school of fine arts and school of arts 

 and crafts, as well as in their public statuary 

 and in much of their architecture. Ecuadorians 

 have upheld the gold standard of money; have 

 caused their condor (gold piece) to conform 

 in value to the British pound sterling ($4.86) 

 and have been solicitous to maintain public 

 credit. In art they are famous for their sculp- 

 ture and painting. 



Quito, the capital, and Guayaquil, the chief 

 port, are nearly equal in size, Quito being some- 

 what the larger and containing about 80,000 in- 

 habitants. Cuenca, in Southern Ecuador, has 

 about half the population of Quito. To reach 

 Quito railway coaches have to ascend a distance 

 of nearly two miles; the traveler has in this 

 an experience unparalleled elsewhere in the 

 world. 



Communications. Nearly all travel in Ecua- 

 dor starts from the harbor of Guayaquil, to 

 which British, German, Chilean and North 

 American vessels make regular visits. The 

 voyage from Panama to this port is made in 

 three or four 

 days, and can be 

 c onsider ably 

 shortened by fast 

 steamers. Before 

 the opening of 

 the Panama 

 Canal few vessels 

 from the Atlantic 

 ever braved the 

 10,000 mile voy- 

 age around 



COMPARATIVE AREAS 



In addition to comparisons 

 ade in the text, note that 

 the Ecuador (without its islands) 

 is nearly as large as Ohio, 

 "Horn" to Ecua- Indiana and Kentucky. 



dor. In 1916 there were fewer than 400 miles 

 of railway in the republic. The railway to 

 Quito, the capital, was completed in 1908; 

 another, to connect the Bay of Caraquez with 

 the capital, was under construction in 1916 

 by a French company. Other lines are under 

 construction or are planned. Where there are 

 no railways, travel and transportation are slow 

 and difficult by reason of the nature of the 

 country. 



Physical Features and Climate. The low- 

 lands of the coast region are oppressively hot, 

 but are well suited to the cultivation of cacao, 



cotton, sugar-cane, coffee, tobacco and tropical 

 fruits. 



There are three successive ranges of moun- 

 tains, rising from the lowlands of the coast 

 and increasing in height to the eastward. The 

 middle range expands into a high plateau, va- 

 ried by occasional high peaks. This plateau is 

 suited to the cereals and vegetables of the 

 temperate zones. The mountain regions are 

 rich in a variety of ores, including gold, mrr- 

 cury, copper, iron, lead, platinum and silver, 

 though some of these have not been worked. 

 Coal and oil exist in paying quantities, and 

 await development. Large deposits of sulphur 

 are found in the volcanic regions and on the 

 islands. 



The moniana, or wooded tract, occupies the 

 eastern slope of the Andes. The extensive for- 

 ests of this region contain many trees of spe- 

 cial and peculiar value, such as the hevca, 

 which produces the best rubber; the phytclc- 

 phas, which supplies the nuts of vegetable 

 ivory; the cinchona, whose bark yields qui- 

 nine; the silk-cotton tree, from which the 

 French have recently perfected their manufac- 

 ture of a delicate silk; and the carludovia, 

 which supplies the fiber for Panama hats. 



Of the mountains, Chimborazo is the highest, 

 rising to a height of 20,608 feet above the 

 sea level. Cotopaxi is one of the most re- 

 markable volcanoes in the world, scarcely ap- 

 proached in terrible sublimity, its thunders 

 being heard at times for hundreds of miles. 



Of the limited native animal life of Ecuador, 

 North Americans are generally familiar with 

 the name of 



"That proud bird, 



The condor of the Andes, that can pierce 

 The illimitable expanse of heaven's blue, 

 And bathe its plumage in the thunder's home." 



of which George D. Prentice wrote in The 

 Closing Year. 



The Galapagos Islands have but little value, 

 and contain only 500 people. They are fa- 

 mous for their enormous tortoises, on which 

 grown men can ride. 



Religion. Ecuador is intensely Roman 

 Catholic. The liberal element is within the 

 Church, not without; and the strongest oppo- 

 sition to clerical influence comes from Catho- 

 lics themselves. 



Commerce. Whether in the matter of im- 

 ports or of exports, the United States is the 

 second among countries trading with Ecuador; 

 Great Britain supplies the most imports, and 

 France takes away the most exports. Before 





