Machala () is a city in south-west

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 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, in Ecuador, and its southern limit is Cabo Blanco, in Peru. The gulf takes its name from the city of Gua ...

on fertile

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 p ...

s. Machala has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 241,606 (2010 census); it is the eighth-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 or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

industries. There is a large trade in bananas,

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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 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; about 80% of Ecuador's ...

mainly to North America. Machala's geographical position near

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

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 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 contin ...

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 (

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

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

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

from January to April due to the retreat of the Humboldt Current. 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 te ...

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 with the Ecuadorian airline

TAME Tame may refer to: *Taming, the act of training wild animals *River Tame, Greater Manchester *River Tame, West Midlands and the Tame Valley * Tame, Arauca, a Colombian town and municipality * "Tame" (song), a song by the Pixies from their 1989 al ...

Notable residents

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

(born 1985), footballer *

Jordy Caicedo Jordy Josué Caicedo Medina (born 18 November 1997) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish club Sivasspor, on loan from Tigres UANL. Club career As a child, Caicedo played football "in rich boy" neighborho ...

(born 1997), footballer *

Gilberto Chamba Gilberto Antonio Chamba Jaramillo (born 1963) is an Ecuadorian serial killer, convicted of murdering nine people in Ecuador and Spain. Known as The Monster of Machala, he was convicted of several murders in south-west Ecuador, but was released un ...

, 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 Hólger Eduardo Matamoros Chunga (born January 4, 1985) is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays for C.D. El Nacional. Club career Club Deportivo Cuenca Matamoros has been playing for Cuenca since 2006. He was part of the squad who participated in ...

(born 1985), footballer * Carlos Muñoz (1964–1993), footballer * Ismael Pérez Pazmiño (1876–1944), journalist and politician * Ángel Pután (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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

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