Guayas Province, Ecuador

Infobox Settlement
name = Guayas
official_name = Guayas Province
settlement_type = Province

---

named_for = Guayas River
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Ecuador
seat_type = Capital
seat = Guayaquil
leader_title = Prefecto Provincial
leader_name = Econ. Nicolás Lapentti Carrión
unit_pref = imperical (metric)
area_total_km2 = 16740
population_total = 3256763
timezone = ECT
utc_offset = -6
blank_name = ISO Code
blank_info = ISO 3166-2:EC-G
website = http://www.guayas.gov.ec/

Guayas is a coastal province in Ecuador. It is borederd 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 populated province in Ecuador. It is the fourth 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 when numbering roads. Nevertheless, this system is unknown for most residents, so it is not regularly used.

The interprovincial roads are also numbered with the national system. Even routes travel north-south; odd routes travel east-west. The interprovincial roads that cross the province are the following:
*Ecuador Highway 15 (Vía del Pacífico; Pacific Way)
*Ecuador Highway 25 (Troncal de la Costa; Coastal Main Way)
*Ecuador Highway 40 (Transversal Austral; Austral Crossing Way)

History

Pre-Hispanic cultures

The most important Pre-Hispanic cultures living in Guayas were the Valdivia, the Machalilla, and the Chorrera Cultures. 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.

panish conquest and independence

Guayaquil was founded on August 14, 1534 (its 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 on 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 populated province in the country. In the last 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 invade municipal areas, creating shantytowns, with no services like water or electricity.

Demographics

Guayas is the most populated 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", or descendants of both Spaniards and Native Americans.

Political Divisions

The province is divided in 25 cantons. Below is a list of cantons, with their capitals in parenthesis.

# Jujan (Jujan)
# Balao (Balao)
# Balzar (Balzar)
# Colimes (Colimes)
# Coronel Marcelino Maridueña (Coronel Marcelino Maridueña)
# Daule (Daule)
# Durán (Durán)
# El Empalme(El Empalme)
# El Triunfo (El Triunfo)
# Bucay (Bucay)
# Guayaquil (Guayaquil)
# Isidro Ayora (Isidro Ayora)
# Lomas de Sargentillo (Lomas de Sargentillo)
# Milagro (Milagro)
# Naranjal (Naranjal)
# Naranjito (Naranjito)
# Nobol (Nobol)
# Palestina (Palestina)
# Pedro Carbo (Pedro Carbo)
# Playas (Playas)
# Samborondón (Samborondón)
# Santa Lucía (Santa Lucía)
# Simón Bolívar (Simón Bolívar)
# Urbina Jado (Salitre)
# Yaguachi (Yaguachi)

External links

* [http://www.guayas.gov.ec/ Provincial Prefecture's Official Page]