Most populous city in Ecuador
About 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 of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is located on the west bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil.
History
Guayaquil was founded on 25 July 1538 by Spanish conqueror Francisco de Orellana in the location of a native village. He named it as Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil ("Most Noble and Most Loyal City of Santiago de Guayaquil"). On 20 April 1687, Guayaquil was attacked and looted by English and French pirates under the command of George Dew (English), and Picard and Groniet (French). Of more than 260 pirates, 35 were killed and 46 were wounded; 75 defenders of the city died and more than 100 were wounded. In 1709, English captains including Woodes Rogers and William Dampier, along with a crew of 110, looted Guayaquil and demanded ransom. But they departed suddenly and without collecting the ransom after an epidemic of yellow fever broke out. …
Geography
Guayaquil is the nation's largest city and the capital of Guayas Province. It is on the Guayas River about 60 km (40 mi) north of the Gulf of Guayaquil, near the Equator. Guayaquil faces major earthquake threats due to its soil stratigraphy and location on the ring of fire and the south of the North-Andean subduction zone. The city can be easily damaged by earthquakes as its weak and compressible soil is composed of deep soft sediments over hard rocks and deposits in a brackish environment. Also, the city itself is strongly affected by the subduction of the active Ecuadorian margin, an intraplate region where active faults locate; and the Guayaquil-Babahoyo strike-slip fault system, formed as the North Andean Block drifts northward. …
Religion
The largest religion in Guayaquil is Christianity, with 70% of those being Catholic. In 1838 the Diocesis of Guayaquil was formed, which became the Archdiocese of Guayaquil in 1956. The city has several churches, the biggest of which being the Guayaquil Metropolitan Cathedral. Aside from catholicism, the city has churches from other denominations, such as the Mormon Guayaquil Ecuador Temple and the Templo de La Fé from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. The city also has Jewish and Islamic communities. Guayaquil is also home to the Yuan Heng temple, the biggest Buddhist temple in South America.
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