The Guayas River also called Rio Guayas is a major

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

in western

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: ' ...

. It gives name to

Guayas Province Guayas () is a coastal province in Ecuador. It is bordered to the west by Manabí, Santa Elena, and the Pacific Ocean (as the Gulf of Guayaquil); to the east by Los Ríos, Bolívar, Chimborazo, Cañar, and Azuay; to the north by Los R� ...

and is the most important river in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

that does not flow into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

or any of its

marginal sea This is a list of seas of the World Ocean, including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits. Terminology * Ocean – the four to seven largest named bodies of water in the World Ocean, all of which have "Ocea ...

s. Its total length, including the

Daule River The Daule River is a river in Ecuador, in Guayas Province. At Guayaquil, it joins the Babahoyo River; from that point the confluence becomes the Guayas River. Cities along the river * Pichincha, Ecuador * Balzar *Colimes * Palestina * Santa L ...

, is 389 km (241 mi). The Guayas River's drainage basin is 34,500 sq.km (13,320 sq.mi) and it has an average discharge of 70,000 cu ft/s (1,982 m3/s). It is the national river of Ecuador and is present on the

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

Geography

Course

The Guayas River has one of its sources in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

and the

Chimborazo (volcano) Chimborazo () is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D. Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point on the Earth's surface from t ...

, Ecuador's highest volcano. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of Ecuador shows an image of the river descending from the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

. ''Guayas'' is the name of the lower part of the river, which starts at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

from the west and the

Babahoyo River The Babahoyo River is a river in western Ecuador, fed by tributaries rising in the Andes Mountains. It takes its name from the town of Babahoyo in Los Ríos. At Durán, it joins the Daule River to form the Guayas River, which continues to the ...

from the east, between the cities of

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

and Durán, in

Guayas province Guayas () is a coastal province in Ecuador. It is bordered to the west by Manabí, Santa Elena, and the Pacific Ocean (as the Gulf of Guayaquil); to the east by Los Ríos, Bolívar, Chimborazo, Cañar, and Azuay; to the north by Los R� ...

. The Guayas River then flows around Santay Island, and becomes one current again. From the confluence to the delta 60 kilometers away, it borders

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 division ...

and Durán cantons, and

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

and Naranjal cantons, just before the delta.

Delta

The Guayas River forms a very complex delta. Its most important feature is the existence of a

slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the ...

called

Estero Salado Estero is a village in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,939. During the 2010 census, Estero was an unincorporated community, or census-designated place, the population at that time was 22,612. Est ...

, surrounded by

swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

and affected by

tides Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

. The area between the Guayas River and the Estero Salado forms a

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that le ...

of islands, some of which have been transformed into

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily ...

s. The Cobina Slough connects the Estero Salado with the river. The main course of the river is affected by tides, and forms a small group of islands; the most important of them is Mondragón. The river then meets the Gulf of Guayaquil, an inlet of 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 conti ...

. Its influence is noticeable in the

Puná Island Puná Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Puná''), is an island just off the coast of southern Ecuador at approximately 80 degrees west longitude and 3 degrees south latitude. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Guayaquil, south of the mouth of the G ...

, and in the Jambelí Strait, in the province of El Oro.

Watershed

The Guayas River has the largest

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

west of the

mountains that flows into the Pacific Ocean. It has an area 34,500 km², in nine

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

: Los Ríos, Guayas, Bolívar, Manabí, Cañar, Pichincha, Azuay, Chimborazo and

Cotopaxi Cotopaxi () is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located in Latacunga city of Cotopaxi Province, about south of Quito, and northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reaching a h ...

. In collaboration with the Estero Salado, the river discharges 36 billion cubic meters of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

into the Gulf of Guayaquil every year.

Cities along the river

Cities along the Daule River

* Pichincha * Balzar *

Colimes Colimes is a town located in northern Guayas, Ecuador, on the Daule River. It is the seat of Colimes Canton. As of the census of 2001, there are 21,049 people residing within canton limits. Its most important crops are: rice Rice is the ...

* Palestina * Santa Lucía * Daule * Nobol *

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

Cities along the Babahoyo River

Babahoyo Babahoyo (), founded May 27, 1948, by legislative decree, is the capital of the Los Ríos province of Ecuador. Its population is cited around 153,000. It is bordered by two rivers, the San Pablo and the Caracol, which join to form the Babahoyo ...

* Samborondón * Durán

Cities along the Guayas River

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

* Durán

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Ecuador Geography of Guayas Province

Geography

Course

Delta

Watershed

Cities along the river

Cities along the Daule River

Cities along the Babahoyo River

Cities along the Guayas River

See also

References