Sucumbíos Province, Ecuador

Sucumbíos is a province in NE Ecuador. The capital and largest city is Nueva Loja (also known as Lago Agrio). It is the fifth largest province in the country, with an area of 18,612 km². As of 1998, it has a population of 144,774 inhabitants.

Geography

Sucumbíos is bounded on the north by Colombia, on the south by Napo and Orellana, on the west by Carchi and Imbabura, on the southwest by Pichincha, and on the east by Peru. Sucumbíos is the only province in Ecuador that borders two different countries.

The province is one of the six provinces in the Amazon Region, a natural region of Ecuador.

Orography

The western area of the province belongs to the Eastern Andes Mountains, where most rivers in the province have their sources. The most important elevation in the province is the Reventador, an active volcano. The eastern portion of the province is part of the Amazon Basin, with high temperatures.

Hydrography

The main river in the province is the Aguarico River. It passes close to Nueva Loja, and empties into the Napo, on the Peruvian border. Other important rivers are the Putumayo, which marks the border with Colombia, and the Coca and Napo Rivers, in the south.

History

Sucumbíos was an unexplored area, where only indigenous people lived, until oil was discovered in its soil. In 1979, after nine years of foundation, Nueva Loja became the seat of its own canton, Lago Agrio Canton, in the Napo Province. In 1989, Sucumbíos became the 21st province in the country.

Economy

The most important natural resource in the province is oil. Thus, Sucumbíos is one of the most important provinces in the country, economically.

Political division

The province is divided into 7 cantons.

Canton (Capital)

# Cascales (El Dorado de Cascales)
# Cuyabeno (Tarapoa)
# Gonzalo Pizarro (Lumbaqui)
# Lago Agrio (Nueva Loja)
# Putumayo (Puerto El Carmen de Putumayo)
# Shushufindi (Shushufindi)
# Sucumbíos (La Bonita)