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  situated ­
  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