El Oro (; ''oro'' =

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

) is the southernmost of

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 ...

's coastal provinces. It was named for its historically important

production. Today it is one of the world's major exporters of

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s. The capital is Machala.

History

The area was settled by the Inca, who inhabited the area at the time Spanish settlement began in 1549. The Spanish found gold there and mined it, carrying the gold to Spain. The province was named for its historically important gold production. The gold was mined by the Spanish mainly in the late 16th and 17th centuries in the village of Zaruma in the

Zaruma Canton Zaruma Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in the El Oro Province. Its capital is the town of Zaruma. Its population at the 2001 census was 23,407. Zaruma was named a ''Pueblo Mágico'' (magical town) by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism (MI ...

. In the 18th century, the earthquake of January 1749 destroyed the mining area. A local rebellion stopped the mining until the Spanish agreed to allow the native people to benefit from the mining. Spain imported gold from the area until the area gained its independence from Spain in 1820.

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

granted the village the title of "Villa de Sant Antonio del Zerro de Oro de Zaruma" (Villa Real de San Antonio del Cerro de Oro de Zaruma on October 17, 1593, as he was appreciative of the gold. After 1820, Ecuador emerged as an independent nation, as neighboring areas to Zaruma also declared their independence. In 1882, the province of El Oro was formed by the villages of Zaruma, Machala and Santa Rosa, with Zaruma as its capital, and the area's gold mining as the reason for the name of the province. Two years later, the capital of the province was moved to Machala. Gold mining continued under various mining companies, which now paid taxes to the government for the gold they mined. As gold mining fell in value, El Oro province became the major area of banana production in Ecuador. Peru invaded and occupied most of El Oro province during the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War of 1941.

Geography

To the north and east the province has borders with the provinces Guayas, Azuay and Loja. To the west and south it is limited by 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 ...

and the

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian

Tumbes Region Tumbes () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru bordering Ecuador. Due to the region's location near the Equator it has a warm climate, with beaches that are considered among the finest in Peru. Despite its small area, the re ...

. The province is divided in 14

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

and features a wide range of attractions, such as the Jambelí Islands, the

petrified forest Petrified wood, also known as petrified tree (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. ''P ...

of the

Puyango River The Tumbes River ( es, Río Tumbes or Río Túmbez in Peru; Río Puyango in Ecuador), is a river in South America. The river's sources are located between Ecuadorian El Oro and Loja provinces. It is the border between El Oro and Loja, and afterw ...

, and the island of Santa Clara, to name a few.

Demographics

Around 715,751 people live in the orense territory, according to the demographic projection of the INEC for 2020, being the sixth most populated province in the country. The Province of El Oro is made up of 14 cantons, from which their respective urban and rural parishes are derived. According to the latest territorial ordinance, the province of El Oro will belong to a region also included by the provinces of Loja and Zamora Chinchipe, although it is not officially formed, called the South Region. *Population 1990: 412,572 *Population 2000: 525,763 *Population 2010: 600,659 Ethnic groups as of the

Ecuadorian census The Ecuadorian census is conducted by the governmental institution known as ''INEC'', ''Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas y Censos'' (National Institute of Statistics and Census).INEC The census in Ecuador is conducted every 10 years, and its obj ...

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 ...

81.6% *

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 ...

7.8% *

Afro-Ecuadorian Afro-Ecuadorians or Afroecuatorianos (Spanish), are Ecuadorians of predominantly Sub-Saharan African descent. History and background Most Afro-Ecuadorians are the descendants of enslaved Africans who were transported by Spanish slavers to Ecuad ...

6.9% *

Montubio Montubio is the term used to describe the mestizo people of the countryside of coastal Ecuador. The Montubio make up 7.4% of the country's population and were recognized as a distinct ethnicity by the government in the spring of 2001 after prot ...

2.8% * Indigenous 0.7% *Other 0.3%

Economy

El Oro economy is mainly based on export of banana and shrimp. Other agricultural products of importance are

cacao Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to: Plants *''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree ** ...

and

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

Politics

Unicameral government.

Cantons

The province is divided into 14

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

s. The following table lists each with its population at the 2001

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, its area in square kilometres (km²), and the name of the

canton seat A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

.Cantons of Ecuador
Statoids.com. Retrieved 4 November 2009.

References

External links

*
Gobierno Provincial Autonomo de El Oro
- web site of the El Oro Government *
Orenses Machala Comunidad Virtual de La Provincia de El Oro
- news about El Oro {{Coord, 3.26667, S, 79.9667, W, source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Provinces of Ecuador