Ecuador, like Peru, has three longitudinal sections: the Coastal zone, the Inter Andine region, including the mountain ranges with the plateau or valleys between, and the Trans Andine, a part of the Amazon basin.
The coastal zone in Ecuador is much wider than at the north or south. We have seen that in Colombia the mountain ranges are so close to the shore as to leave little space for cities or agriculture, while in Peru and Chile for the most part the mountains are visible from the sea. Further, a good portion of Ecuador’s coastal zone resembles in some respects the Amazon section, while in Peru the two are utterly different. Ecuador is the only country favored on the Pacific side with rivers navigable to any considerable extent, and the dense tropical vegetation of much of the coast is in striking contrast to the Peruvian deserts. Remembering that the equator crosses this country, it is easy to understand that where there is much rain the lowlands have a humid tropical climate. The coast curves slightly outward from the north to Capes San Lorenzo and Santa Elena, the latter lacking but a few miles of being the most western point of South America, which distinction falls to Peru. Near these capes the waters of the cold Antarctic current turn west towards the Galápagos Islands, the tropical waters above and the colder current below affecting the climate of the two sections. Just south of Cape Santa Elena begins the Gulf of Guayaquil, the only considerable arm of the sea indenting the West Coast between Panamá and the Island of Chiloé in Chile, a stretch of 3000 miles. Considering the gulf as the broad triangle between Capes Santa Elena, Ecuador, and Blanco in Peru, with the island, Puná, as inner limit, the width is 140 miles. The boundary line of Ecuador, a little north of the Tumbes River, leaves most of the Gulf line in that country. The Gulf penetrates east and slightly north about 100 miles to the Guayas River or estuary. Along the southern shore are occasional estuaries with small river openings and mangrove swamps.
The central mountainous region belongs of course to the great chain of the Andes. As in the countries previously studied, this section of Ecuador differs greatly from the lowlands. Happily the formation is simpler than in Colombia. Extending from a rather confused mass near the boundary of Peru to another jumble of peaks at the Colombian border, a distance of 300 miles, are two parallel ranges, the East and the West Cordillera, from 20 to 30 miles apart. The plateau region between, which is higher at the north, is separated by two lower transverse ridges called páramos into three shallow basins or plains: those of Quito, Ambato, and Cuenca; the first basin with an altitude of 9500 feet, the second, 8500 feet, the third, 7800 feet. Some of the water from these flows into the Pacific and some into the Atlantic. East and west are the two rows of mountains in a remarkably symmetrical arrangement, sometimes exactly opposite each other. Nowhere else in the world are there two such rows of giants or such a collection of snow crowned volcanoes. Of the 22 great peaks, several are active volcanoes and more are extinct. The main range or Cordillera Real is the eastern, with the larger number of lofty peaks; but the highest of all is in the West Cordillera, Chimborazo, altitude 20,498 feet. This mountain, first ascended by Edward Whymper, a celebrated English climber, in 1880, was formerly supposed by many to be the loftiest of the Andes; but farther south at least a dozen peaks are higher, probably two or three times as many.
The volcanic section, as we have seen, extends into Colombia; but not into Peru. Especially noteworthy are Cotopaxi of the East Cordillera, the highest active volcano in the world, 19,613 feet, and Pichincha, the only one historically eruptive in the West Cordillera. The latter, situated very near Quito, has been the source of highly destructive eruptions. Sangay, east of the Ambato Basin, the most southern and among the most active on the globe, does little harm as no settlements are near. The Cuenca Basin, with no erupting volcanoes, contains volcanic material. In the most southern province, Loja, no such signs appear, nor in Peru for some degrees south.
The country of the Oriente, with no llanos, is similar to forested southeastern Colombia. The mountains slope down into the forests, which cover their lower eastern declivities and the plain beyond. This inclines toward the region of the Amazon, with slight undulations well away from the mountains; but the nearer sections are broken by lateral spurs from the main chain, or by low isolated ranges separating the basins of the larger Amazon affluents.
North of the nudo or knot in the Loja province, spurs and ravines lead off from the high mountain range. Here swift flowing streams descend in a region called wild and savage. Those rising farthest north reach the Amazon at a more eastern point than the streams rising nearer, at the south; so the mention of the principal rivers of the eastern slope will begin with the most southern and western tributary. It may be remembered that the Amazon is formed by the union of the Marañón and the Ucayali Rivers, both flowing northwest in Peru, the former, the one nearer the Pacific coast. Above 6° S. Lat. the Marañón turns sharply east, flowing with northerly and southerly deviations, receiving in its course many tributaries before and after breaking through the East Cordillera of Peru at the Pongo de Manseriche. Here the waters of the previously broad river pass through an extraordinary chasm 3 miles long and 100 feet wide. The walls are not 2000 feet high as often stated; in one or two places they may rise 40 feet perpendicularly, but usually they are wooded slopes, rising in a single locality perhaps 2000 feet.[6] The principal rivers flowing from Ecuador into the Marañón or Amazon are the Chinchipe, Santiago, Morona, Pastaza, Tigre, Nanay, and Napo. These with the streams from Colombia drain the northwest part of the Amazon Basin and are capable of adding much to the economic value of the region. The few white settlements existing are as nothing in this vast wilderness.
[6] See Geographical Journal, October, 1920
The Chinchipe River rises in southern Loja and after receiving many tributaries flows into the Marañón a little below where that river runs northeast. The lower part of the Chinchipe is navigable.
The Santiago River rises near the town of Loja between the two Cordilleras. Several of its important tributaries rise in Loja, or in the Cuenca basin farther north. One of these, the Pauta, has a branch rising only 30 miles from the Gulf of Guayaquil, a source nearer the Pacific than that of any other river flowing into the Atlantic unless it be in the very south of Chile. The Santiago enters the Marañón a little above the rapids of the Pongo Manseriche. At the mouth of the stream was once a town, Santiago, which like Borja below the Pongo was destroyed by savages.
The Morona River. Two of the many tributaries of the Morona rise in the East Cordillera at heights above 13,000 and 14,000 feet north of the Apuay knot. At high water the Morona is navigable for 300 miles, at low water for 200, for steamers drawing from 2 to 4 feet, and also two of its tributaries; but due to the tortuous course of the river the 300 miles equals but 120 in a straight line. Earlier many flourishing missions existed in this section, but in the last century the Huambisa Indians inhabiting the upper reaches of the Santiago and the Morona almost exterminated the Indians who had been civilized. So recently as February, 1913, members of the same tribe massacred the soldiers of a Peruvian outpost. This, notwithstanding, was later re-established by Peru.
The Pastaza River, rising in the basin of Riobamba at a height of nearly 15,000 feet, flows through a little known district receiving many tributaries. The lower part is navigable for steamers at high water to the Huasaga branch, 120 miles, and 200 miles farther by canoe. This fluvial system drains the basins of Latacunga, Ambato, and Riobamba, the snows of Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, and other peaks contributing to its waters. A spot where the unified river at an altitude of about 6000 feet in one leap makes a splendid fall of 190 feet is said to be one of the most picturesque scenes in the Andes.
The River Tigre belongs to the region of the plains, though some of its affluents rise in the East Cordillera. Although in volume not to be compared to the Pastaza or the Napo it is quite as important, being navigable for steamers of 4 to 8 feet draught at high water for over 400 miles, and in low water for steamers drawing 2 to 4 feet; 100 miles more on the Corriente branch and 40 on the Pucasuro, with an additional 1260 miles by canoe on its various tributaries. The region traversed is rich in natural products and with over 100 tributaries the river deserves remembrance. It enters the Marañón 40 miles above the Ucayali.
The Nanay, a much smaller plains river with a slow current, yet with a high bank and a healthful climate, may be ascended for 105 miles and has some importance.
The Napo River, formerly part of the boundary line between Colombia and Ecuador but now given over to Ecuador, has sources among the Ecuadorian volcanoes, Cotopaxi, Antisana, and others. At first the descent is rapid. At the foot of the Cordillera 100 miles from the source, and but 1500 feet above the sea, canoe navigation begins at the village of Napo. Sixty miles below, the Coca River comes in. This section includes the Napo missions, a beautiful region long known and visited by botanists and geologists. Here ends the influence of the Roman Church and the land of the salvajes or infieles begins. It was down the Coca valley that Gonzales Pizarro and Orellana came in 1540. From this point the Napo runs in forested plains, receiving many more tributaries, the large Aguarico, and the Curaray. The Napo is called navigable in high water for steamers from the Amazon about 200 miles up to the Curaray, some say to the Aguarico, 560 miles, and little less at low water. At one point the Napo is but 50 or 60 miles from the Putumayo, with which communication by canoe is possible, and often made. The route from the Putumayo to Iquitos by way of the Napo is much shorter for the rubber gatherers, as the Napo flows into the Amazon not far below that city, while the Putumayo enters it several hundred miles farther down.
The Rivers of the Coast are with one exception of comparatively slight importance.
The Santiago River (not to be confounded with the Amazon tributary of that name), a short distance from the Colombian border, is formed by several large streams, and has many tributaries, receiving its waters from high in the West Cordillera. Some of the lower reaches are navigable for canoes and steam launches.
The Esmeraldas River, second in importance to the Guayas, rises a few miles north of Quito in the high plateau region, from which, breaking through the West Cordillera, it descends to the coast. While not navigable for steamers because of the swift current, it may be ascended by canoes for more than 60 miles. With a great number of tributaries it drains a very large mountain area as well as a slightly smaller region of lowland.
The Guayas is undoubtedly the most important river system on the entire west coast, and the only one admitting much navigation. It drains and irrigates a large region, 14,000 square miles, between the great Andes and the low coastal hills. This section has been called the most fertile belt of tropical America. Below the Island of Puná, the river is lost in the Gulf; above, it has much the character of an estuary up to the city of Guayaquil, 33 miles, where it has a width of more than a mile. Not far above the city, the river loses its name at the confluence of the Daule and Bodegas. These two have other names, as do their tributaries also. The principal branches of the Bodegas, which is known also as the Babahoyo, are the Yaguachi or Chimbo, the Vinces or Quevado, and the Calamara or Sapotal; the Daule farther west, also called the Balzar, is about 130 miles long, not counting its windings. In its upper part it receives the Grande and Peripe Rivers, and lower down a number of streams and esteros or canals.
The climate of the several sections, as in Colombia and Venezuela, varies chiefly on account of the altitude, though in places affected also by other causes obvious or hidden. The coastal region is warm with a mean temperature of 82.4°, but with variation in humidity and rainfall. South of the equator the coast is arid with little rain, except in the vicinity of the Gulf of Guayaquil; but farther north in the Province of Esmeraldas there is rain and luxuriant vegetation, as along the Colombian littoral. Towards the mountains, the climate though warmer is agreeable in the dry season.
The mountains which approach the shore of the Gulf of Guayaquil condense the moisture of the trade winds from the east, causing plenty of rain, sometimes too much; the humidity is excessive. Guayaquil, average temperature 80°, has been notoriously unhealthful. The condition, however, was due more to lack of sanitation than to the climate itself. We know of the wonderful change at Panamá; but at Guayaquil, partly no doubt because of several revolutions and financial difficulties, yellow fever and other diseases have long been prevalent. Happily yellow fever was eradicated under the supervision of General Gorgas, but bubonica and small pox may still exist. Recently contracts have been placed for sanitation, sewers, paving, and other improvements, and something is already accomplished.
In some sections there are two rainy and two dry seasons a year, in others it is liable to rain at any time. At Guayaquil the rainy season is from December to April inclusive, or longer, the remainder of the year being dry. In Ecuador the dry season though the cooler is called verano or summer, while the warmer rainy months are called invierno or winter.
The climate of the Ecuadorian Highlands may be called healthful, with varying temperatures according to the altitude and exposure to the wind. On the east side of the mountains the precipitation is greater than on the west side, as along the entire Cordilleras, except in southern Chile. The snow line varies from 14,000 feet to 15,650 and more, the difference depending chiefly upon the amount of precipitation in the various localities. As the dwellings in these regions have no artificial heat they are uncomfortable much of the time for Americans, accustomed to warm houses. A similar condition prevails in all the cooler sections of South America, the natives being indifferent to a temperature that would be discomfort to most of us. When it is really too cold for them they put on overcoats, furs, ponchos, and even hats in the house. In general in the Inter-Andine region between 6000 and 11,000 feet altitude the annual temperature is from 64° to 68° with frequent variations. At any season rain in the afternoon is common, and in the summer high winds make the paramos often dangerous. The high death rate among the working people and Indians is due more to bad living conditions than to the climate. Leprosy is fairly common; there is a good deal of malaria and typhoid fever. Tuberculosis is unknown but catarrhal complaints are prevalent. Persons coming up from the lowlands frequently suffer from mountain sickness, soroche, though less than where the railroads reach a higher elevation.
In the Trans-Andine section the lower region has two wet and two dry seasons, the most rain being from the end of February to the middle of June, another period is from the middle of October to January; but there is rain in every month. On the mountain slopes the dry season is from November to April.