Bolívar Province (Ecuador)

This article describes the province of Bolívar in Ecuador. Provinces of the same name exist in Bolivia, Province Bolívar (Bolivia) , and in Peru, Province Bolívar (Peru) .

Province of Bolívar Provincia de Bolívar
flag
Location in Ecuador
Basic data
Capital	Guaranda
population	178,089 (2005)
- Share in Ecuador	1.3%
- Rank in Ecuador	Rank 14 of 22
- density	55 inhabitants per km²
surface	3,254 km²
- Share in Ecuador	1.3%
- Rank in Ecuador	Rank 21 out of 22
License Plate	B.
Set up	1884
prefect	Vinicio Coloma ( SUMA )
governor	Aníbal Coronel
Seats in the National Congress	3 out of 100
structure	7 cantons
ISO 3166-2	EC-B
(no official homepage yet)

The province of Bolívar is a province of the Republic of Ecuador . It lies on the western cordillera of the Andes and has about 175,000 inhabitants on an area of ​​3250 km². Its capital is Guaranda . The name of the province is that of the liberation fighter Simón Bolívar .

Location and geography

The province of Bolívar is located in the western part of central Ecuador on the western slope of the Andes. It borders on the province of Cotopaxi to the north, Tungurahua and Chimborazo to the east, Chimborazo and Guayas to the south, and Los Ríos to the west .

The terrain of the province of Bolívar, which is one of the smallest, is characterized by an uneven landscape with altitudes between 300 and 4000 meters. The altitude generally rises from the coastal plain in the east, which begins on the border with the province of Los Ríos, to the Andean western cordillera (around the Chimborazo ).

Most of the province is characterized by the north-south running Chimbo Valley, which lies between the main western cordillera of the Andes (around the Chimborazo , which is partly located in the province) and a side cordillera. The western part of the province drops off quite steeply from the side cordillera, which merges into the coastal plain at the border with the province of Los Ríos.

The highest mountain in the province is the Chuquinac with 4011 m.

The climate is in the eastern, higher part moist cool mountain climate , the more sloping western part moderate and very humid. The average temperature of the province is at 13.5 ° C specified.

politics

The prefect of the province is Vinicio Coloma from the liberal Movimiento SUMA party . The mayor of the capital Guaranda, Ramsses Torres, also belongs to this party. The provincial governor appointed by the president is Aníbal Coronel.

history

Historically, the area in which the province is located was known as the region of the Chimbos , who were closely related to the Puruhá . In 1534, Sebastián de Belalcázar founded the Corregimento ( Vogtei ) Chimbo.

After independence (1820), the coregiment with the law on the territorial order of Greater Colombia of 1824 became the canton of Guaranda of the province of Chimborazo . This status persisted even after the secession of Ecuador from Greater Colombia (1830). In 1860 the canton of Guaranda was separated from the province of Chimborazo together with the recently created canton of Chimbo and incorporated into the new province of Los Ríos . In 1884 a new province was finally established, which was named in homage to Simón Bolívar. Their cantons were initially Guaranda, Chimbo and San Miguel.

Economy and Infrastructure

The main economic sectors in the province are agriculture (including corn , beans , bananas , oranges , cocoa , coffee , potatoes and vegetables), which are mainly run on small family farms, and livestock . The processing companies in the province are primarily of an agro-industrial nature: there is a lemon press in the canton of Caluma, and cheese is produced in Salinas. Balzapamba is known for its ceramics and orange processing, San José de Chimbo for its guitar makers .

The province has a university in Guaranda.

Cantons

The province of Bolívar is currently divided into seven cantons . These are (in order of their establishment):

1. Guaranda (established in 1824, capital: Guaranda )
2. Chimbo (established in 1860, capital: San José de Chimbo )
3. San Miguel (established in 1877, capital: San Miguel )
4. Chillanes (established in 1967, capital: Chillanes )
5. Caluma (established 1980, capital: Caluma )
6. Echeandía (established in 1984, capital: Echeandía , named after Manuel Echeandía (1783–1850), a colleague of Bolívar born in Guaranda)
7. Las Naves (established in 1992, capital: Las Naves)

literature

• Oswaldo Rivera Villavicencio: Ecuador: Provincias y Capitales , Ed. Edigaralde (Quito), 2nd edition October 2004, pp. 23–32.

Remarks

1. ^ INEC, Población total y tasa brutas de natalidad, mortalidad general, mortalidad infantil y materna según regiones y provincias de residencia habitual, año 2005 ( Memento of February 3, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 13, 2007.

Web links

• Ecuador Online: Information about the Province (span.)
• Tourist information from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism (Spanish) ( Memento of March 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

Coordinates: 1 ° 35 ′  S , 79 ° 5 ′  W