Quito , City (pop., 2010: 1,607,734), capital of Ecuador. The city lies at an elevation of 9,350 ft (2,850 m) on the lower slopes of Pichincha, an active volcano, in a narrow valley of the Andes Mountains. A pre-Columbian town, it was captured by the Incas in 1487 and taken by the Spanish in 1534. It is the oldest of all South American capitals, and its old town preserves much of its colonial atmosphere. In 1552 the Franciscans established an art school there, the first of its kind in South America. One of Ecuador’s two major industrial centres, it produces textiles and light consumer goods. It is the site of several institutions of higher learning. The old town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978.
Quito Article
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Ecuador Summary
Ecuador, country of northwestern South America. Ecuador is one of the most environmentally diverse countries in the world, and it has contributed notably to the environmental sciences. The first scientific expedition to measure the circumference of Earth, led by Charles-Marie de La Condamine of
South America Summary
South America, fourth largest of the world’s continents. It is the southern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, or simply the Americas. The continent is compact and roughly triangular in shape, being broad in the north and tapering to a point—Cape