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Introducing Mystery Class #9 Quito,
Ecuador |
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Hello, and welcome from Quito, Ecuador!
We
hope you enjoyed your search for our location which is situated
way up high at "la mitad del mundo"! Do you know what
that phrase means in English? Read on to find out this and more. |
| Our City |
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Quito is a very remarkable city, for several reasons. First, Quito is the capital city of Ecuador. And actually, the full name of the city is San Francisco de Quito. In addition, Quito is remarkable because it located within minutes of the equator, which runs just a little to the north of Quito. In fact, just a short drive outside of Quito, there is a monument marking the equator. The monument is known locally as "la mitad del mundo" (the middle of the world).
Quito has a population of approximately 1.5 million people, and is located about 116 miles from the Pacific coast. Although it is not the largest city in Ecuador (it's the second largest), it is the political, administrative, and cultural capital of Ecuador.
The climate here in Quito is cool and rainy most of the time because of the altitude, but we are also just a day's drive from a very large rainforest and a day's drive from the ocean. The city of Quito is situated on the lower slopes of a huge volcano called Guagua Pichincha, in a valley of the Andes Mts. It's an active volcano and sometimes it erupts ashes all over our city. When this happens, the schools and businesses are closed because of the volcano. Quito was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an Inca city, and some say it is the oldest South American capital. Quito is said to have the best-preserved historic center in Latin America, and is laid out mainly in a rectangle. It has a large central plaza, many quiet parks and flower gardens, and numerous steep, narrow streets. More than any other South American capital, Quito has preserved its colonial atmosphere, with squares, fountains, public buildings, and houses built in the typical Spanish or Moorish style. Most attractive is the main square, Plaza Mayor, with its seventeenth-century cathedral, government palaces, municipal hall, and other buildings. There is beautiful folk music that uses a small guitar made from the shell of an armadillo, it's called a "charango." The music also uses pan flutes and tambors. One fun event here is called ¨Los Toros¨ but some people don't like it because it's violent.
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| Our Country |
Ecuador, offically called Republic of Ecuador (in spanish it's República del Ecuador), is located in the northeastern corner of South America. It is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, by Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean on the west. Do you know what "Ecuador" means in Spanish? It is the word for equator, and the country does indeed straddle the equator. Take a look at the map.
The country also includes the Galápagos Islands (Archipiélago de Colón) in the Pacific, about 965 kilometers (600 miles) west of the mainland. The Galapagos Islands is the location where Charles Darwin conducted much of his famous studies.
Galapagos Tortoise The national language of Ecuador is Spanish. However, the population of Ecuador --almost 14 million -- is quite ethnically diverse. The largest ethnic group is comprised of Mestizos, the mixed descendants of Spanish colonists and indigenous Native Americans, who constitute 65% of the population. Amerindians are second in numbers and account for 25% of the current population. Whites, mainly criollos, the unmixed descendants of early Spanish colonists, as well as immigrants from other European and Latin American countries, and account for some 7%. The small Afro-Ecuadorian minority, including Mulattos and zambos, and largely based in Esmeraldas and Imbabura provinces, make up 3%. Can you guess what the currency of Ecuador is called? Surprise, the currency is the U.S. Dollar. That's right. Ecuador changed its currency to the U.S. Dollar in 2000 in an effort to stabilize its economy. Much of Ecuador's economy is based on oil and gas resources and rich agricultural areas. Because the country exports many of these primary products such as oil, bananas, flowers and shrimp, its economy can be subject to big financial changes when world market prices change. The most popular sport in Ecuador is soccer/football as in most South American countries. Some of its best known professional teams include Barcelona S.C. and C.S. Emelec, from Guayaquil, Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito, Deportivo Quito and El Nacional (the Ecuadorian Armed Forces team) from Quito, Olmedo from Riobamba, and Deportivo Cuenca, from Cuenca. The matches of the Ecuadorian national football team are the most watched sports events in the country. We hope you
enjoyed searching for our secret site at the middle of the Earth.
Come and visit our wonderful country! |
The
altitude of Quito is 2850 m (9350 ft) above sea level. Because of
this elevation, Quito has a moderate climate even though it is almost
on the equator. Some say that Quito is the second highest capital
city in the world in terms of elevation. (Do you know what capital
city is higher?)
