Vol. XVIII, No. 2 WASHINGTON 



February, 1907 



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BEAUTIFUL ECUADOR* 



By Hon. Joseph Lee, U. S. Minister to Ecuador 



THE Republic of Ecuador lies at 

 the northwestern corner of the 

 South American continent, be- 

 tween Colombia and Peru. As its name 

 implies, it is situated upon the Equator. 



Ecuador possesses an area of 429,C)CX) 

 square miles, including the Galapagos 

 Archipelago. It is nearly twice the size 

 of France and as large as Texas, New 

 York, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska com- 

 bined. The population is 1,500,000. 

 Although the country is comprised be- 

 tween one degree north and four degrees 

 south latitude, almost every variation of 

 climate is obtainable, from the torrid 

 lands of the coast to the chilly plains, at 

 an elevation of 12,000 feet, at the foot of 

 the snow-clad peaks of the Andes. 



Both the eastern and western ranges 

 of the Andes traverse the Republic. Be- 

 tween these ranges lie extensive high val- 

 leys yielding the products of the Temper- 

 ate Zone. To the west of the Cordillera 

 stretch the low tropical lands on the Pa- 

 cific, and to the east the country grad- 

 ually descends to the low Amazon Valley 

 and the frontiers of Brazil. 



Guayaquil, the principal seaport of the 

 Republic, is situated on the River 

 Guayas, the most important stream in 

 South America emptying into the Pacific, 



about sixty miles above its mouth. It 

 has a population of 50,000. It is the 

 emporium of Ecuador. All imports and 

 exports pass through Guayaquil. The 

 houses are built of wood, owing to the 

 lack of other material. They are con- 

 structed in the southern style, with bal- 

 conies protruding over the sidewalks and 

 resting upon wooden pillars, thus form- 

 ing piazzas which afiford protection 

 against sun and rain. As fires under the 

 circumstances are particularly dangerous, 

 Guayaquil has perhaps a more extensive 

 fire department than any city of its size, 

 and ample reservoirs of water on a hill 

 behind the town. It is improbable that 

 Guayaquil will ever again be visited by 

 such disastrous conflagrations as in the 

 past. 



GUAYAQUIL 



The hospitals of Guayaquil are as com- 

 plete as any in South America. The 

 great new General Hospital, with its 

 modern appliances, compares most favor- 

 ably with Ancon Hospital at Panama. 

 Although the cathedral, the churches, 

 the great municipal buildings, and the- 

 aters are built of wood, they are impos- 

 ing and are decorated in perfect taste. 

 The Union Club of Guayaquil is, with 



*An address to the National Geographic Society November 30, 1906. 



