Playas Canton
| General Villamil | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Canton | |||
| |||
| Nickname(s): Playas | |||
 | |||
 | |||
| Country |
 Ecuador | ||
| Province |
 Guayas Province | ||
| Capital |
 Playas | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Michel Achi Marín | ||
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) | ||
| Time zone | ECT (UTC-5) | ||
| Area code(s) | 593 4 | ||
| Website | www.vivaplayas.gov.ec | ||
General Villamil, also known as Playas, is a Guayas canton in Ecuador. The Playas canton is located at the south western area of the Guayas Province. Its Canton Capital is General José de Villamil, also known as Playas. Its located at 96 kilómeters from the capital of the Guayas Province, Guayaquil. It limits to the north and east with Guayaquil Canton, on the west with Santa Elena Province, and to south with the Pacific Ocean. Its territory has an area of 280 km2 and has a population of 31000 citizens, with 25000 of them living in the cantons capital.
Natural Resources
The terrain at Playas canton is mostly plain, but to the north there are few hills like:
- cerro Colorado
- cerro Picón
- cerro Cantera
It has a large coastline; the main beaches are located to the south. The main rivers in the Playas Canton are: Arena River, Moñones and Tambiche. The weather is hot and dry. The beaches are freshened by the ocean wind.
The land is mostly arid due to the long term droughts and the hot weather. The most common native plant is the algarrobo, which sprouts the algarrobita, used as a high quality energizant. One of the main activities of the canton is fishing. Along with local independent fishermen, there are mostly shrimp and tuna industries. The Ecuadorian sea provides Playas a great variety of fish and seafood that along with the tourism and pool shrimp sowing conform the main activities of its population.
Tourism
Playas, being at 97 kilometers from Guayaquil, receives a large number of turists from the province capital, as well as from the rest of Ecuador. The canton receives turism boost on the hot months from January to April, period of time known as "the beach season". Its main festivities, events and carnivals are:
JANUARY
- Cabalgata de los Reyes (Kings Horse riding)
FEBRUARY
- Carnival in Playas
- Election of Carnival's Queen
- International Skate Board championship "Playas Xtreme"
MARCH
- Beach Volleyball Southamerican circuit
- Bicycle racing
APRIL
- Master Championship of Nautic mile
- Surf Championship
- Raft Race
JUNE
- Fishermen "San Pedro" folk holliday
JULY
- Winter "Beach Season" opening
AUGUST
- Celebration and parade for tursm workers.
- Parties in canton-becoming day.
SEPTEMBER
- Merced Virgin honor celebrations.
Weather
| Climate data for Santa elena | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F | 108 | 108 | 104 | 104 | 97 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 90 | 95 | 95 |
| Average high °F | 86 | 91 | 91 | 90 | 86 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 75 | 79 | 81.3 |
| Average low °F | 73 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 63 | 59 | 59 | 59 | 61 | 66 | 66.8 |
| Record low °F | 66 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 61 | 55 | 55 | 52 | 55 | 57 | 59 | 57 |
| Record high °C | 42 | 42 | 40 | 40 | 36 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 35 | 35 |
| Average high °C | 30 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 27.5 |
| Average low °C | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 19.4 |
| Record low °C | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 |
| Source: [1] | |||||||||||||
References
- ↑ "Weatherbase". Weatherbase. Retrieved Feb 13, 2008.
Coordinates: 2°37′24″S 80°23′15″W / 2.62333°S 80.3875°W