an independent state of South America, lying under the equator, from which it takes its name. It corresponds, with a trifling difference, to the old Spanish province or intendency of Quito; but formed anciently the northern portion of the empire of the Incas of Peru, and latterly the south-western province of the now dissolved republic of Columbia. It is situate between S. Lat. 6° and N. Lat. 2°, and W. Long. from Greenwich 70° and 82°—being about 830 miles in length from E. to W., and 560 in breadth from N. to S.—and only contains an area of about 320,000 English square miles. It is bounded on the S. by the state of Peru, on the N. by New Granada, on the E. by Brazil, and on the W. by the Pacific Ocean; but the boundaries of the eastern portion of the state are not yet very well defined.

The western portion of the state, to the extent of about a third of its area, is covered with mountains. These consist principally of a cross section of the Andes, about 7° in length, forming at the northern and southern boundaries respectively the two large mountain-knots of Loja or Loxa, and Pastos. Between these knots the range of the Andes forms a single mass, about 300 miles in length and from 70 to 80 miles in breadth, rising with a steep acclivity at the distance of about 70 to 90 miles from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to a mean elevation of about 9000 feet, and forming on its summit a long plateau or table-land, bordered on each side by parallel ranges of mountains, which again rise several thousand feet higher, and have their peaks covered with perpetual snow. The highest, or those on the E. and W. sides of these ranges, are about 50 miles apart, while the lower and interior ranges occupy a breadth of several miles on each side, leaving between them a narrow belt of flat ground—from 15 to 24 miles in width, and 300 miles in length from N. to S.—divided into three parts by two cross ridges. The southwest portion forms the valley of Cuenca, which has an elevation of about 7800 feet; the northmost is the celebrated plain of Quito, which has a mean elevation of about 9600 feet; and between them is the valley of Alausi and Ambato, with a mean elevation of 8000 feet. The valley of Cuenca is connected with the middle valley by the pass of Assaya, the crest of which rises to the great elevation of 15,520 feet; but the ridge between Alausi and Quito, called the Alto de Chinchinche, rises only about 500 feet above the contiguous plains on the N., and is of inconsiderable width. Among the lofty summits that border these valleys, the following table gives the names of the principal, with their elevations in feet above the level of the sea—

| Name | Feet | |---------------|--------| | Chimborazo | 21,424 | | Cayambe-Urcu | 19,534 | | Alausi | 19,137 | | Cotopaxi | 15,875 | | Imita | 17,375 | | Sangay | 16,827 | | Chumbal | 16,524 | | Carguaizaro | 16,663 | | Cotococha | 16,448 | | Tunguragua | 15,990 | | Pichincha | 15,930 |

With the exception of Chimborazo, all these are active, or only recently quiescent volcanoes; and the surrounding districts are subject to frequent earthquakes, some of which have been terribly destructive.

Between the Andes and the sea the country is covered with mountains, which, however, do not seem to form continuous ridges. The shores themselves are high, rising along the Pacific with a bold and broken line of gulfs, bays, Ecuador, and headlands, except at the S.W., where the Gulf of Guayaquil, 70 miles wide, terminates inland, with an alluvial valley, or long plain, several miles in breadth, and so low as to be always flooded in the rainy season. In the bosom of the gulf lies the island of Puna, with an area of more than 200 square miles, but inhabited only by a few fishermen.

To the eastward the Andes sink abruptly into the great plain which extends eastward to the Atlantic Ocean along the river of the Amazonas and its mighty tributaries, some of which have their sources among the mountains of Ecuador. In this direction flow the waters of the valleys of Cuenca and Alausi, and Hanabato, while those of Quito find their way to the Pacific through the rivers of Patias and Esmeraldas. So far as within this state, the great plain is partly wooded and partly a savannah interspersed with many lagoons and stagnant pools, and intersected by innumerable streams flowing from the Andes.

Granite seems to form the basis of the whole range of the Andes, but it rarely appears on the surface. Gneiss is sometimes found in connection with the granite, but mica-schist is by far the commonest of the crystalline rocks. Quartz is likewise very abundant, and vast tracts of red sandstone with gypseous and saliferous marls occur near Quito. Porphyry and greenstone abound all over the range, and great masses of trachyte, from 14,000 to 18,000 feet thick, are visible on Chimborazo and Pichincha. Basalt, of columnar structure, including olivine, and overlaid with thick beds of clay, is found on the table-land of Quito. Immense quantities of lava, tufa, obsidian, and other volcanic products, are likewise found, particularly along the western face of the Andes.

Although this state lies under the equator, the great elevation of the mountain mass of the Andes renders the climate, in the elevated districts, mild and temperate. In the valley of Quito there prevails an everlasting spring, so equal in its temperature that vegetation never ceases; and the city has acquired the title of *Sempre verde* (ever-green), and *Eterna primavera* (everlasting spring). The change of seasons is scarcely perceptible, while the mean temperature of the day, all the year round, varies only from 60° to 67°, and that of night from 48° to 52° Fahr. The season between September and May is called winter, and the rest of the year summer; but the winter is only distinguishable by somewhat greater quantity of rain, and the summer by a greater number of fine days. All the year round, however, scarcely a day passes without rain. In the mornings and evenings the sky is generally clear and serene, but in the afternoon it is generally overcast with dark clouds, which pour down torrents of rain, often accompanied with awful storms of thunder. Sometimes, however, the rain continues all night, and occasionally three or four days together. Wind blows continually along the valley, either from the north or from the south, but never with great violence. In the low country on the coasts the climate is very different. At Guayaquil the temperature is generally between 98° and 104°, and people complain of cold when it falls to 84° or 86°. In the other valleys along the coast the mean temperature of the year varies between 78° and 82°; but from December till April the heat rises to 95°, and during these months rain falls with little interruption, frequently accompanied with violent tempests. The floods at that season are so great, that in the valley of Guayaquil the country becomes one sheet of water even to the base of the Andes, to which the people betake themselves for refuge, with their herds and flocks. Fevers, diarrhoea, dysentery, vomiting, and spasms, then prevail, and the mortality is often very great.

On the acclivity of the Andes, at the elevation of 3000 to 5000 feet, a soft spring temperature prevails, never varying more than 7° or 8°, and the mean temperature of the year being from 68° to 70°. The great eastern plain has a hot climate, the mean temperature being probably from 75° to 85°. The heat sometimes rises to 95°; but every day, early in the afternoon, a wind, generally accompanied with rain, begins to blow from the eastward with great force, and continues till sunset.

In the low countries that flank the base of the Andes Vegetable the bananas, cayes, plantain, cacao, jatropha which produces productions, cassava and manioc, the cotton tree, indigo, coffee, and the sugar-cane abound; beneath the elevation of 4000 feet, the plants chiefly cultivated for food are the sweet potato, mandioe, yam, and banana, with rice, maize, and some legumes; but above 3100 feet most of these become rare, and thrive only in particular situations. The sugar-cane, however, has been grown so far up as 7500 feet. In some of the valleys are extensive plantations of sugar-cane, cotton, tobacco, and cocoa. The valley of Guayaquil is particularly fertile; the soil is alluvial, and there are few spots even between the tropics which can vie with it in richness and variety of vegetation. It is covered with groves of every kind of tropical fruits, either wild or cultivated, as the pineapple, pomegranate, shaddock, orange, lime, lemon, peach, apricot, cherimoya, pulpa, granadilla, tuna, and patay. In the same region are found the olive, pepper plant, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes, gum copal, copaiba balsam, carana, dragon's blood, sarsaparilla, and vanilla. To these succeed, in the humid and shaded clefts on the slopes of the mountains, tree ferns and cinchona or Peruvian bark, the finest kind of which is obtained about 8 to 12 miles S. of Loja among the mountains of Uritisinga, Villanaco, and Rumusitania, where the trees that yield it grow in a soil resting on mica-slate and gneiss, at the moderate elevation of 5756 to 7673 feet above the level of the sea. Between the elevations of 6000 to 9000 feet is the region best suited for the European cereals. Wheat will not form the ear lower than at 4500 feet, or ripen higher than at 10,000 feet; but barley and rye grow at an elevation 2500 feet still higher. To these may be added the guinua, a most useful production for domestic purposes. In this region also, and a little above it, grow the potato and its congeners, all of which are extensively used as food; the chick pea, broad bean, cabbage, and other European vegetables, are likewise abundant. Within the cereal limits are found the oak, elm, ash, and beech, which never descend lower than 5500 feet, and are seldom found higher than 9200 feet above the level of the sea. Higher up, the larger forest trees, except the pine, begin to disappear; and on the mountains of Quito the escallona mark the highest limit of trees at an elevation of 11,600 feet. The bejarias, the highest of shrubs, terminate at 13,400 feet, above which, in rich and beauteous verdure, rises the zone of the grasses. Above these, among the trachyte rocks, only lichens, lecids, and the brightly coloured dust-like lepraria are met with; and to these succeed the region of perpetual snow.

In some parts of the low country the air swarms with animals, mosquitoes and other flies still more tormenting, while the ground teems with snakes, centipedes, and other reptiles. The banks of the great rivers are crowded with caimans or alligators. Bats are exceedingly numerous and of great size; the forests of the warmer regions abound with armadillos, monkeys, and cayus; and everywhere are found the jaguar, the puma, the ounce, the ocelot, and several varieties of the wild cat. The pecari and deer are likewise common, as well as that singular animal the ant-eater. The characteristic animals of the Andes are the llama, the guanaco, the vicuna, and the paco or alpaca, some of which are trained as beasts of burden, while others, particularly the vicuñas, run wild among the mountains, where they are hunted by the Indians. Sheep and cattle are reared in great numbers, especially the former, in the valleys of the Andes, and on the declivities of the mountains. Horses, asses, and mules, are reared in sufficient numbers to be articles of export. The chief of the birds is the condor, which is found all along the Andes southward as far as the Strait of Magellan, but nowhere to the north of the equator. The turkey, vulture, and gallinago, are frequently met with, together with many kinds of smaller birds. In some districts, particularly along the coasts, considerable quantities of bees-wax are collected; and higher up there are spots in which the cochineal insect is reared. Along the rivers of the great plain turtles are numerous; and their fat, called manteca butter, forms a considerable article of trade. Fishing is carried on to some extent along the coasts, and a good deal of salt-fish is prepared. A murex is also found which yields a juice used in dyeing purple.

Ecuador is less rich in minerals, especially in the precious metals, than any other of the South American states. There are indeed several mines of gold and silver, but the yearly produce is inconsiderable. In some places are found lead and quicksilver, but the latter is found, as usual, in combination with sulphur in the form of cinnabar. Near Azogues, 15 miles N.E. by E. of Cuenca, the ore is found in an immensely thick bed of quartzose sandstone, containing fossil wood and asphalt. Sulphur is prepared in considerable quantities; gold has been washed from the sands of some of the rivers; and salt is obtained from sea-water along the coasts.

The settled population is composed of Spanish creoles of pure descent, mestizos, mulattoes, and negros, the greater part of them being agriculturists, graziers, and growers of cacao. These form about a half of the population. The other half are native Indians, of whom those that live among the mountains are mostly agriculturists, cultivating their lands with much care, and making for themselves coarse stuffs of wool and cotton. The Indians who inhabit the eastern plains are in a much lower degree of civilization. They cultivate only small patches of ground, and apply themselves chiefly to hunting and fishing. Three-fourths of the population dwell in the western or mountainous part of the state; and the total number is now estimated at about 800,000.

The manufactures are unimportant, consisting chiefly of coarse woollen and cotton cloths and other necessary articles. The foreign trade is almost confined to Guayaquil, and is so trifling as scarcely to deserve notice.

Till 1812 Ecuador remained a portion of the Spanish empire of the Indies. It then threw off the yoke of Spain, and in 1821 became a part of the newly constituted republic of Columbia. This union, however, lasted only till 1831, when Ecuador became an independent state. It has gone through several revolutions; and by the last (1852-3) the democratic party has gained the ascendency, and shown a tendency to adopt the United States of North America as their political model. The state has in consequence received a new and more liberal constitution; the Jesuits have been expelled; and laws have been made for the abolition of slavery. The government is vested in a president, with a vice-president and two chambers, all elective; but the constitution is still notably complicated by what has always been its principal characteristic, a predominating mixture of military despotism, the president being always the master of the state. More, perhaps, than any other country of South America, Ecuador has been slow in the development of her resources and national industry. Frequent revolutions have paralysed its trade, and prevented the regulation of its finances. No interest has been paid on its public debt since 1826. It is emphatically the country of natural convulsions and political revolutions.

For administrative purposes the state is divided into the three departments of Ecuador, Guayaquil, and Assay; and these are subdivided into the seven provinces of Quito, Riobamba, Ibarra, Guayaquil, Babahoyo, Cuenca, Loja, or Lara (Loh-ba), and Jaen de Bracamor. The state likewise claims the sovereignty of the Islas de los Galapagos, or islands of land turtles, lying under the equator at a distance of 700 to 900 miles from the mainland. The chief towns are, Quito, with from 50,000 to 80,000 inhabitants; Guayaquil, 25,000; Cuenca, 20,000; Riobamba, 15,000; Loja, Babahoyo, and Ibarra, about 10,000 each. Quito is beautifully situated in the elevated plain to which it gives its name; and Guayaquil on the banks of a navigable river, opening into the spacious bay to which it gives its name.