Machala () is a city in south-west

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. It is the capital of the

El Oro Province El Oro (; ''oro'' = gold) is the southernmost of Ecuador's coastal provinces. It was named for its historically important gold production. Today it is one of the world's major exporters of bananas. The capital is Machala. History The area was s ...

, and is located near the

Gulf of Guayaquil The Gulf of Guayaquil is a large body of water of the Pacific Ocean in western South America. Its northern limit is the city of Santa Elena, Ecuador, Santa Elena, in Ecuador, and its southern limit is Cabo Blanco, Peru, Cabo Blanco, in Peru. The ...

fertile Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate is ...

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

s. Machala has a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 288,072 (2022 census); it is the sixth-biggest city in the country, and the second-most important port. It has been referred to as the ''Banana Capital of the World''.

Economy

Machala is a commercial center for the surrounding

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

industries. There is a large trade in

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

and cocoa. The banana industry is especially oriented for exportation, and plays a huge role in the city's economy. Bananas are shipped out from nearby

Puerto Bolívar Puerto Bolívar is an Parishes of Ecuador, urban parish and port city, part of the municipality of Machala, El Oro Province, Ecuador. Puerto Bolívar is one of the world's largest shipment points for bananas, most of them destined for Europe; ab ...

mainly to North America. Machala's geographical position near

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

also makes it an important transportation center. Many travelers heading south to Peru or north to Guayaquil funnel through the city. It is not known as a tourist destination among Ecuadorians or international tourists, though its proximity to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

positions it close to beaches. Machala has a growing economy that was marked in 2007 by the inauguration of its first mall, with a movie theater, on the outskirts of the city.

Orientation

The center of Machala is dominated by a large Catholic church and a central plaza. The plaza was built in the early 2000s to include a large fountain. There are many hotels situated in the center of the city. Las Brisas, located nearly a mile from the central plaza, is another popular place in Machala; it is a wealthier neighborhood which used to serve as a popular hangout for local teenagers. But the remodeling of La Zona Rosa, as well as the decreased safety of the area, have led to its becoming less popular.

Education

Machala has one university, the Universidad Técnica de Machala. There are many private schools in Machala and one public high school – Colegio 9 de Octubre. The city serves as a stopping-off point on the way to nearby

and the Jambelí Islands, which can only be reached by ferry.

Climate

Machala features a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSh''). Like most of the coastal region of Ecuador, there is a short

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

from January to April due to the retreat of the

Humboldt Current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and pro ...

. The weather in both wet and

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

s is very warm to hot and cloudy due to persistent fog from the cold current.

Transportation

Air

Santa Rosa International Airport Santa Rosa International Airport (also known as Coronel Artilleria Victor Larrea Airport) is an airport serving Machala, the capital of El Oro Province in Ecuador. Located south in Santa Rosa, it replaces the closed General Manuel Serrano Airp ...

serves as the city's principal airport. It hosts commercial flights to

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

with the Ecuadorian airline TAME.

Notable residents

Gabriel Achilier Gabriel Eduardo Achilier Zurita (; born March 24, 1985) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays for Orense in the Liga PRO Ecuador as a centre-back. Club career Born in Machala, Achilier began his professional career in Liga Depor ...

(born 1985), footballer *

Jordy Caicedo Jordy Josué Caicedo Medina (born 18 November 1997) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Sporting de Gijón, on loan from Liga MX club Atlas, and the Ecuador national team. Club career Caicedo started pla ...

(born 1997), footballer * Gilberto Chamba, serial killer * Fausto Tutu Guzman (born 1944), great Basketball player and Pajero Professional * Nicolás Asencio (born 1975), footballer * Juan Carlos Espinoza Mercado (born 1987), footballer * Ángel Fernández (born 1971), footballer * Luis Miguel Garcés (born 1982), footballer * Hólger Matamoros (born 1985), footballer * Carlos Muñoz (1964–1993), footballer * Ismael Pérez Pazmiño (1876–1944), journalist and politician *

Ángel Pután Ángel Enrique Pután Sandoval (born June 20, 1986) is an Ecuadorian footballer currently playing for Club Deportivo Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi, UTC. External linksPután's FEF player card
1986 births Living people People from Machal ...

(born 1986), footballer * Tania Tinoco (born 1963), journalist and television producer

References

External links

*
Orenses - El Oro - Machala - Ecuador / Comunidad Virtual de la Provincia de El Oro
News about Machala in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Chat Orenses - El Oro - Machala - Ecuador
Chat Orenses - El Oro - Machala - Ecuador
Investor info for Ecuador and MachalaUniversidad Technica de MachalaSitio informativo de la Capital Bananera del Mundo

{{Authority control Populated places in El Oro Province Populated coastal places in Ecuador Port cities in Ecuador Provincial capitals in Ecuador 1573 establishments in the Spanish Empire