QUITO, the capital of the republic of Ecuador, and of the province of Pichincha, situated in lat. o° 14' S., long. 45' W., about 114m. from the Pacific coast and 165m. in a direct line north-east of Guayaquil, with which it is connected by a railway completed in 1908. In 1933 the population of Quito was esti mated at 107,192. It occupies a small basin of the great central plateau formed by the volcano Pichincha on the west, the Puengasi ridge on the east, and ridges north and south formed by spurs from the eastern side of Pichincha. The ground upon which the city is built is uneven and is traversed from west to east by two deep ravines (quebradas), one of which is arched over in great part to preserve the alignment of the streets. The city is in great part laid out in rectangular squares, the streets running nearly with the cardinal points of the compass. The houses of Quito are chiefly of the old Spanish or Moorish style. The building material in general use is sun-dried bricks, which in the better houses is covered with plaster or stucco. The public buildings are of the heavy Spanish type. Facing the principal square (Plaza Mayor), and occupying the whole south side, is the cathedral; on the west side is the government palace ; on the north the archbishop's palace; and on the east the municipal hall. The elevation of this plaza is 9,343ft. above sea-level. The finest building in the city is the Jesuits' church, the facade of which is covered with elaborate carving. Among public institutions are the university, which occu pies part of the old Jesuit college, an astronomical observatory, and i i large monastic institutions, six of which are for nuns. One
of the convents, that of San Francisco, covers a whole block, and ranks among the largest institutions of its kind in the world. A part of it is in ruins, and another part has been for some time used as military barracks by the government. The university has faculties of theology, law and medicine, and has 200 to 250 stu dents, but it is antiquated in character and poorly supported. The eminent botanist and chemist, Dr. William Jameson (1796-1872), was a member of its faculty for many years. There are a number of retail and wholesale firms. The city exports include hides and forest products from the wooded mountain slopes near by. Re ligious paintings of a mediaeval type are produced in large num bers and exported. The native manufactures include tanned leather, saddles, shoes, ponchos, woollen and cotton cloth, fibre sandals and sacking, blankets, coarse matting and woollen carpets. Quito artisans show much skill in wood and ivory carving and in gold and silver work. The women excel in fine needlework.
Quito derives its name from the Quitus, who inhabited the locality a long time before the Spanish conquest. In 1533 Sebas tian Benalcazar took peaceable possession of the native town and in 1541 it was elevated to the rank of a Spanish city. Its full title was San Francisco del Quito, and it was capital of the prov ince or presidency of Quito down to the end of Spanish colonial rule. It has suffered repeatedly from earthquakes.