Imbabura () is a

province 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 out ...

located 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 ...

of northern

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: ' ...

. The capital is Ibarra. The people of the province speak Spanish, and a large portion of the population also speaks the Imbaburan

Kichwa Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia ('' Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers. The most widely spoken dialects are Chimbor ...

variety of the

Quechua language Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most wid ...

. The summit of

Cotacachi Volcano Cotacachi is a dormant volcano in the Western Cordillera of the northern Ecuadorian Andes, in the west of Imbabura Province, above the city of Cotacachi. It has a summit elevation of above sea level and its highest elevations are capped with sno ...

at an elevation of is north-east of the town of Cotacachi. The volcano is located in the large

Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve Cotacachi Cayapas Reserve contains of land and is located in the Imbabura and Esmeraldas provinces of Ecuador from Quito. Elevations in the reserve range from about in the east to Cotacachi Volcano which reaches an elevation of in the sou ...

. Imbabura Volcano is also located in the province. Best reached from the town of La Esperanza, the high mountain can be climbed in a single day. Cotacachi volcano

Cantons

The province is divided into six

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 ente ...

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 inc ...

and 2010 census. its area in square kilometres (km²), and the name of the cantonal seat or

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 fo ...

Today

The governor of Imbabura is Paolina Vercoutere Quinche. She was appointed on 17 June 2022.

Demographics

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 European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

65.7% *

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 ...

25.8% *

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 Ecuado ...

5.4% *

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 ...

2.7% * Montubio 0.3% *Other 0.1%

References

Andes Mountains South America Photograph 022

* {{Authority control Provinces of Ecuador

Cantons

Today

Demographics

See also

References