Industrial and commercial South America

by Annie S. Peck

Rivers of the Coast

The Rivers of the Coast are with one exception of comparatively slight importance.

The Santiago River (not to be confounded with the Amazon tributary of that name), a short distance from the Colombian border, is formed by several large streams, and has many tributaries, receiving its waters from high in the West Cordillera. Some of the lower reaches are navigable for canoes and steam launches.

The Esmeraldas River, second in importance to the Guayas, rises a few miles north of Quito in the high plateau region, from which, breaking through the West Cordillera, it descends to the coast. While not navigable for steamers because of the swift current, it may be ascended by canoes for more than 60 miles. With a great number of tributaries it drains a very large mountain area as well as a slightly smaller region of lowland.

The Guayas is undoubtedly the most important river system on the entire west coast, and the only one admitting much navigation. It drains and irrigates a large region, 14,000 square miles, between the great Andes and the low coastal hills. This section has been called the most fertile belt of tropical America. Below the Island of Puná, the river is lost in the Gulf; above, it has much the character of an estuary up to the city of Guayaquil, 33 miles, where it has a width of more than a mile. Not far above the city, the river loses its name at the confluence of the Daule and Bodegas. These two have other names, as do their tributaries also. The principal branches of the Bodegas, which is known also as the Babahoyo, are the Yaguachi or Chimbo, the Vinces or Quevado, and the Calamara or Sapotal; the Daule farther west, also called the Balzar, is about 130 miles long, not counting its windings. In its upper part it receives the Grande and Peripe Rivers, and lower down a number of streams and esteros or canals.

Climate

The climate of the several sections, as in Colombia and Venezuela, varies chiefly on account of the altitude, though in places affected also by other causes obvious or hidden. The coastal region is warm with a mean temperature of 82.4°, but with variation in humidity and rainfall. South of the equator the coast is arid with little rain, except in the vicinity of the Gulf of Guayaquil; but farther north in the Province of Esmeraldas there is rain and luxuriant vegetation, as along the Colombian littoral. Towards the mountains, the climate though warmer is agreeable in the dry season.

The mountains which approach the shore of the Gulf of Guayaquil condense the moisture of the trade winds from the east, causing plenty of rain, sometimes too much; the humidity is excessive. Guayaquil, average temperature 80°, has been notoriously unhealthful. The condition, however, was due more to lack of sanitation than to the climate itself. We know of the wonderful change at Panamá; but at Guayaquil, partly no doubt because of several revolutions and financial difficulties, yellow fever and other diseases have long been prevalent. Happily yellow fever was eradicated under the supervision of General Gorgas, but bubonica and small pox may still exist. Recently contracts have been placed for sanitation, sewers, paving, and other improvements, and something is already accomplished.

In some sections there are two rainy and two dry seasons a year, in others it is liable to rain at any time. At Guayaquil the rainy season is from December to April inclusive, or longer, the remainder of the year being dry. In Ecuador the dry season though the cooler is called verano or summer, while the warmer rainy months are called invierno or winter.

The climate of the Ecuadorian Highlands may be called healthful, with varying temperatures according to the altitude and exposure to the wind. On the east side of the mountains the precipitation is greater than on the west side, as along the entire Cordilleras, except in southern Chile. The snow line varies from 14,000 feet to 15,650 and more, the difference depending chiefly upon the amount of precipitation in the various localities. As the dwellings in these regions have no artificial heat they are uncomfortable much of the time for Americans, accustomed to warm houses. A similar condition prevails in all the cooler sections of South America, the natives being indifferent to a temperature that would be discomfort to most of us. When it is really too cold for them they put on overcoats, furs, ponchos, and even hats in the house. In general in the Inter-Andine region between 6000 and 11,000 feet altitude the annual temperature is from 64° to 68° with frequent variations. At any season rain in the afternoon is common, and in the summer high winds make the paramos often dangerous. The high death rate among the working people and Indians is due more to bad living conditions than to the climate. Leprosy is fairly common; there is a good deal of malaria and typhoid fever. Tuberculosis is unknown but catarrhal complaints are prevalent. Persons coming up from the lowlands frequently suffer from mountain sickness, soroche, though less than where the railroads reach a higher elevation.