ioB SELLING LATIN AMERICA 
cold in the fertile plateau on which Quito is 
situated at about 9000 feet. Above this in the 
mountains it is always much colder. The 
Equator passes across the northern tip of the 
country near Quito, while two ranges of the 
Andes run parallel throughout its length for 
520 miles, embracing some of the highest 
peaks in the system, Chimborazo being 20,498 
feet high and Cotopaxi 19,613. The plateau 
between these ranges averages 65 miles in 
width and has a mean altitude of 8250 feet. 
These mountains form watersheds giving 
rise to two river systems, flowing respectively 
toward the sea and toward the interior, which 
ultimately develop into 91 distinct rivers, only 
one, the Guayas, on which Guayaquil is situ 
ated about 60 miles from where it empties into 
the sea, being of any great commercial value. 
The other rivers which are navigable for a 
short distance are the Daule and the Vinces 
in the west, while the extension of the Amazon 
in Ecuador, there called Maranon, affords 
direct communication with Brazil. 
A census has never been taken in Ecuador