Loja Province
Encyclopedia
| Location in Ecuador | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Capital | Loja Loja Loja may refer to:*Loja, Granada, Spain*Loja Province, Ecuador*Loja Canton, Ecuador*Loja, Ecuador, capital of Loja province*Loja, Latvia, capital of Sēja municipality*Loja, Estonia, village in Pühalepa Parish, Hiiu County, Estonia... |
| Pronounced | (lō`hä) |
| Area | 10,997 km² |
| Annual Rainfall | 950 mm |
| Population | 446,743 |
| Official Language(s) | Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... , Quechua Quechua languages Quechua is a Native South American language family and dialect cluster spoken primarily in the Andes of South America, derived from an original common ancestor language, Proto-Quechua. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably... |
| Largest city | Loja |
| Longitude | 79°05’ - 80°29’ W |
| Latitide | 3°19’ - 4°45’ S |
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Loja Province is one of 24 provinces
Provinces of Ecuador
Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces . The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are:1 Population as per the census carried out on 2001-11-25In addition, there are three areas within Ecuador that are non-delimited...
in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and shares its southern border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
on the west by El Oro Province
El Oro Province
El Oro province 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.-Geography:To the north and east the province has borders with the provinces Guayas,...
, on the north by El Azuay, and on the east by Zamora-Chinchipe. Founded on its present site in 1548 by Captain Alonso de Mercadillo (Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
) the site had been previously moved and rebuilt from La Toma due to earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s. It also is named as Cuxibamba Valley which means from the Quichua as the "Smily valley".
Overview
Located in a high Andean valley at an elevation of 7,300 feet (2,225 m) and with a population of 404,835 inhabitants censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, 2001, Loja is recognized as being a friendly and pleasant city. This was demonstrated when Loja
Loja, Ecuador
Loja is the capital of Ecuador's Loja Province. It is located in the Cuxibamba valley in the south of the country, sharing borders with the provinces of Zamora-Chinchipe and El Oro, and with Peru in the south...
, both the provincial capital and one of the oldest cities in Ecuador, won a community involvement award in 2001 in recognition of the communities ongoing effort to support and to protect the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
.
Surrounded by two rivers the Zamora
Zamora River
The Zamora River is a tributary of the Santiago River located in the south-east of Ecuador. Historically, it was known to the Spanish as Yaya Mayu , from the river's name among a group of Shuar encountered nearby.The sources of the Zamora River are in the Podocarpus National Park, specifically at...
and Malacatos, Loja has a variety of microclimates. This results in numerous ecological zones due to its unique position. Based between the humid Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
basin and coastal sechura
Sechura
Sechura is a town in northwestern Peru, 50 km south of Piura. It is the capital of Sechura Province in the Piura Region. The town gives its name to the Sechura Desert, which extends south along most of coastal Peru...
desert in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
the environment consists of paramo
Páramo
The term páramo can refer to a variety of ecosystems. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as “all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline”. A more narrow term classifies the páramo according to its regional placement - specifically located in “the northern Andes...
, cloud forest and jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
landscapes. 86% of the province is covered by hills or mountains.
Its historical buildings and Colonial Architecture
Colonial house
American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English , French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch Colonial, German Colonial and Georgian Colonial...
make the city of Loja a popular tourist attraction. Famous for the Vírgen del Cisne religious festivals it organizes in September every year, Loja is also famous for its musicians. The city has a number of important music academies including the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica, house of the most influent musicians in Ecuador. The city is commonly referred to as the ‘musical capital of Ecuador.’ A person from Loja should be a singer;if not a singer he or she has to be a poet, otherwise would be an artist. In addition to the academies, there are also two universities; Universidad Tecnica Particular De Loja, Universidad Nacional de Loja with an important law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
school as well.
Just south of Loja (42 km) is Vilcabamba
Vilcabamba, Ecuador
Vilcabamba is a village in the southern region of Ecuador, in the Loja province, about from the city of Loja. The etymology of the “Vilcabamba” apparently derives from the Quichua “huilco pamba.” Huilco denotes the sacred trees, Anadenanthera colubrina, that inhabit the region and pamba is a...
which is known as the Valley of Longevity. Inhabitants of the community enjoy a long life span
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
due to its ideal climate and local hot springs
Hot Springs
Hot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas** Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Placer County, California...
. Researchers and scientists have regularly visited the town, studying geographical conditions, climate, soil and water. Articles
Article (publishing)
An article is a written work published in a print or electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of propagating the news, research results, academic analysis or debate.-News articles:...
have even appeared in well known periodicals such as Readers Digest and National Geographic Magazine providing their own theories to the longevity
Longevity
The word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....
of the Vilcabamba inhabitants. Loja is credited with being the first city in Ecuador to have had electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. Electric power was supplied to the city by the introduction of a Hydroelectric dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
completed in 1896.
Economy
A lot of investment has been made recently in the cochinillaCochineal
The cochineal is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the crimson-colour dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America and Mexico, this insect lives on cacti from the genus Opuntia, feeding on plant moisture and...
farms that provide commodities for the both the textile and cosmetic industries. La Toma historically has provided for many sugar plantations, and where commodities such as sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
are not often grown to be exported internationally like cochinilla, but instead brought and sold nationally.
Loja has also seen its fair share of mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
predominately gold which has consequently caused damage to the environment.
Government and politics
The Loja Provinces much like other divisions in Ecuador is divided into three main institutions.- MunicipioMunicipioMunicipio and Município are terms used for country subdivisions. They are often translated as municipality.-Overview:...
, who is elected by population every four years and is headed by the MayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
who currently is Jorge Bailón. - Prefectura, which is the government at a local level and is headed by the Prefecto. This institution is responsible for all the 22 cantons and is elected by population every four years.
- Gobernacion, delegates the work from the president which is concentrated at the national level. The candidate is elected by the presidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
himself.
Ecology
Podocarpus National Park
Podocarpus National Park is a national park located in the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Loja, in the south-east of Ecuador. It was created in 1982....
. The park is 1,463 square kilometres and has an elevation ranging from 1000 m to 3690 m. The park itself is home for a number of animals like bears
Spectacled Bear
The spectacled bear , also known as the Andean bear and locally as ukuko, jukumari or ucumari, is the last remaining short-faced bear and the closest living relative to the Florida spectacled bear and short-faced bears of the Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene age.The spectacled bear is a...
and pumas as well as exotic birdlife. Over 40% of the park's 3,000-4,000 plant species are endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
, unique to this area. There is also in excess of 600 species of birds.
Cantons
The province is divided into 16 cantons. The following table lists each with its population as of the 2001 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, its area in square kilometres (km²), and the name of the canton seat or capital.
| Canton | Pop. (2001) | Area (km²) | Seat/Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calvas | 27,604 | 839 | Cariamanga Cariamanga Cariamanga is a town in the Loja Province of Ecuador. It is the capital of the Calvas Canton.- References :* *... |
| Catamayo | 27,000 | 646 | Catamayo Catamayo Catamayo is a canton of the Loja Province in Ecuador. Its seat is Catamayo. It is located in the north of the province, bordered by the cantons of Loja, Gonzanamá, Olmedo, and Chaguarpamba... |
| Celica | 13,358 | 518 | Celica Celica, Ecuador Celica is a canton in Loja Province, Ecuador. Its seat is Celica. The canton is located in the west of the province and is bordered by the cantons of Puyango and Paltas in the north, Sozoranga in the east, Macará in the south, and Pindal and Zapotillo in the west... |
| Chaguarpamba | 7,898 | 311 | Chaguarpamba Chaguarpamba Chaguarpamba is a canton in the Province of Loja Ecuador. Its seat is Chaguarpamba. The canton is located in the north of the province and is bordered by the cantons of Catamayo, Olmedo, Paltas, and the province of El Oro. The name is Quichua for "Valley of Jaguars." It occupies an area of 311.7... |
| Espíndola Espíndola Espíndola is a canton in the Province of Loja Ecuador. It is located in the south-east, bordered by the cantons of Quilanga and Calvas, the province of Zamora-Chinchipe and the country of Peru. It covers an area of 632 km² at an altitude of 1720 m , with a population of 19,213... |
15,750 | 514 | Amaluza (Espíndola) |
| Gonzanamá | 14,987 | 693 | Gonzanamá Gonzanamá Gonzanamá is a canton in the Province of Loja, Ecuador. It is located in the south-east of the province, bordered by the cantons of Catamayo, Loja, Quilanga, Calvas, and Paltas. It is the "agricultural, farming, and craftsmanship capital of Loja." Gonzanamá covers 1272 km² at an altitude of 2045... |
| Loja | 175,077 | 1,881 | Loja Loja, Ecuador Loja is the capital of Ecuador's Loja Province. It is located in the Cuxibamba valley in the south of the country, sharing borders with the provinces of Zamora-Chinchipe and El Oro, and with Peru in the south... |
| Macará Macará Canton Macará Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Loja Province. Its capital is the town of Macará. Its population at the 2001 census was 18,350.... |
18,350 | 575 | Macará Macará Macará is a city located in Loja province in Ecuador. It is the seat of the Macará canton and is located near the border between Ecuador and Peru.The population as of a 1995 census was 11,841 and in 2009 it had an estimated population of 12,896.... |
| Olmedo Olmedo Canton Olmedo Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Loja Province. Its capital is the town of Olmedo. Its population at the 2001 census was 5,707.... |
5,707 | 112 | Olmedo |
| Paltas | 24,703 | 1,145 | Catacocha Catacocha Catacocha is a town in the Loja Province of Ecuador. It is the seat of the Paltas Canton.- References :* This place is situated in Paltas, Loja, Ecuador, its geographical coordinates are 4° 4' 0" South, 79° 38' 0" West and its original name is Catacocha... |
| Pindal Pindal Canton Pindal Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Loja Province. Its capital is the town of Pindal. Its population at the 2001 census was 7,351.... |
7,351 | 200 | Pindal |
| Puyango Puyango Canton Puyango is a canton of the Province of Loja, Ecuador. It is located in the west of the province, and borders the cantons of Paltas, Celica, Pindal, and Zapotillo.... |
15,505 | 634 | Alamor Alamor Alamor is a location in the Loja Province, Ecuador. It is the seat of the Puyango Canton.- References :* * - External links :*... |
| Quilanga Quilanga Canton Quilanga Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Loja Province. Its capital is the town of Quilanga. Its population at the 2001 census was 4,582.... |
4,582 | 235 | Quilanga |
| Saraguro Saraguro Canton Saraguro Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Loja Province. Its capital is the town of Saraguro. Its population at the 2001 census was 28,029.... |
28,029 | 1,075 | Saraguro |
| Sozoranga Sozoranga Canton Sozoranga Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Loja Province. Its capital is the town of Sozoranga. Its population at the 2001 census was 7,994.... |
7,994 | 410 | Sozoranga |
| Zapotillo Zapotillo Canton Zapotillo Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Loja Province. Its capital is the town of Zapotillo. Its population at the 2001 census was 10,940.- GENERAL INFORMATION :Header Cantonal: ZapotilloElevation: 325 m.s.n.m... |
10,940 | 1,209 | Zapotillo |
External links
- http://www.lojanos.com/ Lojanos.com - Informative Spanish website with different topic such as local and national news, turistic information, cultural and social events of Loja City and the province of Loja