name of a department, province, city, river, and gulf, in the republic of Ecuador, South America. The department is bounded on the west by the Pacific, and on the other sides by Peru and the departments of Ecuador or Quito and Assuay. The great chain of the Andes forms its eastern boundary. The chief products are cacao, cotton, maize, tobacco, and various kinds of fruits. Area, 26,238 square miles. Pop. estimated at 132,000. It is divided into the provinces of Guayaquil and Manabi, the capitals of which are Guayaquil and Puerto Viejo. Guayaquil, the capital of the above department, and the chief commercial town of the republic, stands on the right bank of the river of the same name, which is here about 2 miles wide, in S. Lat. 2° 12', W. Long. 79° 39'. It extends about 2 miles along the river, and is divided into an old and new town; the former stands higher up the river, and is entirely inhabited by the poorer classes. Guayaquil is very unhealthy, which may be sufficiently accounted for from its low, level site, without drainage, the marsh immediately behind it, and the effluvia arising, especially in hot weather, from the mud left exposed to the action of the sun by the receding tide. There is also a deficiency of fresh water, the river being brackish for a considerable distance above the town. None of the public buildings are remarkable for architectural beauty; and the houses are generally of only one story, and built of wood. Vessels of considerable burden can come up to the town, as the tide at full and change rises 24 feet. Foreign goods are imported in considerable quantities, and sent up the river in balzas to Babahoyo or Caracol, whence they are carried on the backs of mules to the valleys of Ambato and Quito; and almost all the native products exported are sent from this port. It has a dry dock; and several vessels of a superior construction have been built here. Cacao is the principal article of export, and next to it are straw-hats, hides, timber, tobacco, bark, &c. The chief articles of import are British manufactured cottons and hardware, silks, wine, flour, &c. In 1851, 181 vessels, of 16,051 tons entered and cleared at the port; the cargoes in the former case were valued at L274,700, in the latter at L287,800. Guayaquil is subject to frequent and terrific earthquakes. Pop. about 28,000. The Guayaquil River is the principal in Western Ecuador. It is formed by the union of numerous streams from the Andes, and becomes navigable for commercial purposes at Babahoyo or Caracol, 70 or 80 miles from its mouth—river boats ascending to one or other of these places according to the season. Below Guayaquil the channel is impeded by numerous rocks and small islands, while at its mouth is the larger island of Pana. Where the river falls into the Pacific it is known as the Gulf of Guayaquil, the extreme points of which are 70 miles apart.

Guaymas, a seaport-town of Mexico. See Mexico.

Guayra, La, the principal seaport-town of the republic of Venezuela, province of, and 11 miles N.N.W. of Caracas. It is in an unhealthy situation, and is closely surrounded by high mountains and rocks. The chain of mountains which separates it from the high valley of Caracas descends almost directly into the sea; and the houses of the town are backed by a wall of steep rocks, leaving scarcely 100 or 140 fathoms' breadth of flat ground between this wall and the sea. The town is poorly built, and contains no edifice worthy of notice. The port is unsheltered, but has good anchorage in from 6 to 30 fathoms, and is well defended by land batteries. Its chief exports are coffee, cocoas, indigo, and hides, with some cotton and sugar. Pop. about 8000.