General Villamil, also known as Playas, is a Guayas
canton in
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
. The Playas canton is located at the south western area of the
Guayas Province
Guayas () is a coastal province in Ecuador. It is bordered to the west by ManabÃ, Santa Elena, and the Pacific Ocean (as the Gulf of Guayaquil); to the east by Los RÃos, BolÃvar, Chimborazo, Cañar, and Azuay; to the north by Los Rà ...
. Its Canton Capital is
General José de Villamil, also known as Playas. It is located 96 kilómeters from the capital of the Guayas Province,
Guayaquil
, motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America
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. It borders to the north and east with
Guayaquil Canton
The Guayaquil Canton, officially the Municipality of Guayaquil, is a canton in the center of the Guayas Province in western Ecuador. The canton was named after its seat, the city of Guayaquil, the most populous city in Ecuador.
Political divisio ...
, on the west with
Santa Elena Province
The Province of Santa Elena () is a province of Ecuador in the coastal region. Created in 2007 from territory that belonged to the Guayas Province, it is one of the two newest provinces of Ecuador, along with Santo Domingo de Los Tsáchilas. It ...
, and to south with the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.
Its territory has an area of and has a population of 31,000 citizens, with 25,000 of them living in the canton's capital.
Demographics
Ethnic groups as of the
Ecuadorian census of 2010:
*
Mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
74.2%
*
Afro-Ecuadorian 10.8%
*
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
6.6%
*
Montubio 4.8%
*
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
1.9%
*Other 1.7%
Weather
Natural resources
The terrain at Playas canton is mostly plain, but to the north there are few hills like:
* cerro Colorado
* cerro Picón
* cerro Cantera
It has a large coastline; the main beaches are located to the south.
The main rivers in the Playas Canton are: Arena River, Moñones and Tambiche.
The weather is hot and dry. The beaches are freshened by the ocean wind.
The land is mostly arid due to the long term droughts and the hot weather. The most common native plant is the
algarrobo, which sprouts the algarrobita, used as a high quality energizant.
One of the main activities of the canton is fishing. Along with local independent fishermen, there are mostly shrimp and tuna industries.
The Ecuadorian sea provides Playas a great variety of fish and seafood that along with the tourism and pool shrimp sowing conform the main activities of its population.
Tourism
Playas, being at 97 kilometers from Guayaquil, receives a large number of tourists from the province capital, as well as from the rest of Ecuador. The canton receives tourism boost on the hot months from January to April, period of time known as "the beach season".
Its main festivities, events and carnivals are:
JANUARY
*Cabalgata de los Reyes (Kings Horse riding)
FEBRUARY
*Carnival in Playas
*Election of Carnival's Queen
*International Skate Board championship "Playas Xtreme"
MARCH
*Beach Volleyball Southamerican circuit
*Bicycle racing
APRIL
*Master Championship of Nautic mile
*Surf Championship
*Raft Race
JUNE
*Fishermen "San Pedro" folk holiday
JULY
*Winter "Beach Season" opening
AUGUST
*Celebration and parade for tursm workers.
*Parties in canton-becoming day.
SEPTEMBER
*Merced Virgin honor celebrations.
References
{{Cantons of Ecuador
Cantons of Guayas Province