Chimborazo Province

Chimborazo Province Provincia de Chimborazo
flag
Location in Ecuador
Basic data
Capital	Riobamba
population	432,711 (2005,)
- Share in Ecuador	3.3%
- Rank in Ecuador	Rank 8 of 22
- density	77 inhabitants per km²
surface	5,637 km²
- Share in Ecuador	2.2%
- Rank in Ecuador	Rank 16 of 22
License Plate	H
Set up	1824
prefect	Mariano Curicama ( Pachakutik )
governor	Pablo Morillo
Seats in the National Congress	4 out of 100
structure	10 cantons
ISO 3166-2	EC-H
Homepage of the provincial government (span.) ( Memento from July 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

Kichwa Indian (Puruhá) from the area around Alausí

The Province of Chimborazo ( Spanish Provincia de Chimborazo ) is a province in Ecuador . It has about 430,000 inhabitants on an area of ​​5600 km². Its capital is Riobamba . The province is located in the central Andes of Ecuador and bears the name of the 6310 meter high Chimborazo volcano .

geography

The province of Chimborazo borders on the province of Tungurahua in the north, the province of Morona Santiago in the east, the province of Cañar in the south and the provinces of Guayas and Bolívar in the east . In addition to the Chimborazo, the El Altar , Cubillín and parts of the Sangay and Sangay National Park are also located in the Chimborazo province. In addition, Lake Colta ( Laguna de Colta ) is part of the province's natural heritage.

The train ride from Riobamba via Guamote , the "devil's nose " ( Nariz del Diablo ), Alausí , Sibambe , Huigra to Bucay or parts of it are considered a tourist attraction. In the past, this section of the route formed the most spectacular part of the railway connection from Guayaquil - Durán to Quito , which is no longer serviced regularly due to route undercutting and the displacement by bus traffic.

See also : Rail transport in Ecuador

The Panamericana crosses the province and, coming from the north, divides at Cajabamba into two sections, both of which lead through the highlands and the coastal plain to Peru .

population

The province is the one in Ecuador with the largest proportion of indigenous population, especially Quichuas, especially the Puruhá ethnic group, live here.

history

Historically, the province was part of the settlement and dominion area of ​​the Puruháes . Around 1500 the Inca under Túpac Yupanqui advanced north. The region around the semi-desert of Tiocajas in today's province of Chimborazo was, according to tradition, the scene of intense armed conflicts between the Puruháes and groups allied with them such as the Caras and the Inca under Huayna Cápac . The latter finally won. Atahualpa , son of Huayna Cápac and a local princess, was Huayna Cápac's successor and was to remain the last Inca before the Spanish conquest. Atahualpas General Rumiñahui tried in vain from Quito to stop the troops of the conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar after Atahualpa's execution in Cajamarca . Between the two, there was again a battle in the area of ​​Tiocajas , which Belalcázar won. In the course of his advance, he founded the cities of Santiago and San Francisco on Lake Colta in the area of ​​today's Chimborazo province in 1534 , which after geographical relocation and re-establishment today form the largest cities of Ecuador, Guayaquil and Quito, which are, however, far from the place of foundation .

The present-day province of Chimborazo was founded on colonial forerunners as part of the Greater Colombian Department del Ecuador through the law on the territorial division (Spanish Ley de División Territorial ) of Greater Colombia of June 25, 1824. After the founding of the state of Ecuador (1830) it remained.

politics

The directly elected prefect of Chimborazo is called Mariano Curicama. He belongs to the Pachakutik , the political movement of the indigenous umbrella organization CONAIE and was elected for an electoral alliance made up of Pachakutik and Movimiento Patria Solidaria . For the same alliance, the mayor of the capital Riobamba, Ángel Ignacio Yánez, was elected to his office.

Pablo Morillo has been the provincial governor appointed by the president since January 2007. He is a supporter of President Correa's Movimiento PAÍS political movement .

Cantons

The province of Chimborazo is currently divided into 10 cantons . These are (in order of their establishment):

1. Riobamba (established in 1824, capital: Riobamba )
2. Alausí (established in 1824, capital: Alausí )
3. Guano (established in 1824, ratified 1845, capital: Guano )
4. Colta (established in 1884, capital: Villa La Unión , better known as Cajabamba )
5. Guamote (established in 1944, capital: Guamote )
6. Chunchi (established in 1944, capital: Chunchi )
7. Penipe (established in 1984, capital: Penipe)
8. Pallatanga (established in 1986, capital: Pallatanga)
9. Chambo (established in 1988, capital: Chambo)
10. Cumandá (established in 1992, capital: Cumandá)

Remarks

1. ↑ POBLACION TOTAL Y TASA BRUTAS DE NATALIDAD, MORTALIDAD GENERAL, MORTALIDAD INFANTIL Y MATERNA ( Memento of October 15, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 13, 2007.

Web links

• Website of the Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, a technical university in Riobamba (span.)

Coordinates: 1 ° 56 ′  S , 78 ° 44 ′  W