CANTON LOGROÑO - ECUADOR
Statistics
The county of Logroño is located in the center of the province of Morona Santiago bordered on the North by Sucua County, on the South by Mendez County. The county includes three distinct Parishes: Logroño, Shimpis, and Yaupi. Area: 1044 km2 Average Temperature: 20 degress Celcius Altitude: 659 meters above sea level Precipitation: 1200-1300 mm annually Population: 4,619
History
The Legend of Logroño
The legend of Logroño holds that in the early years of Spanish exploration a city was founded deep in the Amazonian jungle of Ecuador. The city was named “Logroño of the gentlemen” in honor of the Spanish city Logroño and was founded in a region rich with gold. Legend holds that the Spanish settlers of Logroño abused the region’s indigenous people forcing them to into slavery in their gold mines. Finally the enslaved people revolted killing all of the Spanish colonizers and saving the most gruesome punishment for Spanish leader. They captured him and force fed him molten gold until he died.
After the rebellion the city of Logroño and its gold disappeared into the jungle once again. Years later in the early 1900s a group of Sicilian missionaries looking for new land to settle and new souls to convert came to the Amazon. They founded a town and named it Logroño after the lost city of the colonial era. However, the legend holds that somewhere in the dense overgrowth of the jungle the original Logroño with its gruesome past and wealth of goal is still waiting to be discovered.
The Foundation of the Modern City of Logroño
In 1915 Sicilian missionaries began migrating to the Amazonian region of Ecuador with the goal of founding a religious mission and proselytizing to the indigenous peoples of the region. They built a settlement in Mendez and began constructing roads to connect the different towns of the region.
It was the Sicilian priests that constructed Logroño’s first street San Pedro in 1952. Local farmers donated the land to form the city center. In 1955 the town was legally established as its own political parish. With the construction of the highway in 1963 Logroño began a period of rapid expansion and new economic and political ties with the provincial capital.
In 1973 the road to Cuenca was finished accelerating Logroño’s economic and social development even further. Along with new roads came a wave of new migrants from Mendez, Azuay and Cañar. Logroño began to be recognized as a center of political and economic influence in the region. On January 22nd 1997 Logroño was officially established as an independent county in the province of Morona Santiago.
Climate
The county of Logroño is located in the tropical zone of Ecuador. However, the region is divided in two distinct climate zones, the mountainous region with elevations up to 3000 meters above sea level. This zone includes sections of the Cutucú, Condor, and Andead corridors and is characterized by a temperate humid climate. The low region is tropical humid and descends to 600 meters below sea level. It includes the Upano, Zamora, Namangoza, and Nangaritza river valleys.
The county’s capital city, Logroño, is located in the Upano river vallay at an elevation of 659 meters above sea level in the tropical humid region.
Temperatures in Logroño fluctuate between 17 and 24 degrees Celsius depending upon regional and seasonal factors.
Precipitation varies between 1.2 millimeters and 3 millimeters annually with an average rainfall of 2.1 millimeters per year.
Geography
Within the County of Logroño there are three distinct topographical zones
The Upano River Valley
The Upano River Valley sits between the Andian mountains on the West and the Cutucú Corrido ron the East. It’s topography is composed of plains and terraces with slight inclines between 1 and 5% with the notable exception of steep embankments alongside the Upano River. In this zone pastureland and agriculture dominate the landscape.
The Cutucú Corridor
The Cutucú Corridor is composed of steep slopes dominated by primary forest and forms part of the Shuar indigenous territory.
Amazon Basin
Within the county of Logroño the Amazonian basin begins at the eastern edge of the Cutucú corridor and stretches to Taupi. This area is also dominated by primary forest and because it forms part of the Shuar indigenous territory is still fairly untouched. The region is very flat which few slopes steeper than 12%.
Hydrology and Climatology
The county of Logroño includes several important rivers including the Upano, Chiguaza, Chanka-chankasa, Panía, Chupientza y Shimpis rivers. On the eastern side of the Cutucú Corridor the most important rivers are the Yaupi, Yaapi, Chapiza, Wampis and Chinkianas.
Ecology
The county of Logroño is dominated by primary tropical forest and includes a rich variety of flora and fauna. This abundance is gradually being reduced through land development and the timber industry to the point that intervention is necessary. Local and national government collaboration in recent years has sought to establish new programs to ensure the conservation and preservation of the county’s valuable natural resources.
Political Breakdown
The county of Logroño includes three distinct parishes each with their own central community.
Logroño Parish
Composed of the town of Logroño, head of the county and the communities of Yampas, San Carlos, Chupiankas, Los Angeles, Jesús del Gran Poder.
Shimpis Parish
Composed of the town of Shimpis, head of the parish and the communities of Najempaim, San Miguel, San Antonio, La Unión, Chiwias, 13 Hijos, Unumkis, Comuna Grande, Washmas, Mashinkiash y Nuevo Israel.
Yaupi Parish
Composed of the community Yaupi, head of the parish and its communities: Yaapi, Tumpaim, Mejech, Chatos, Wampints, Kumpak, Wawaim, San Jose de Yaap, Tukup, Etsa, San Jose de Yaupi, San Antonio, Santa Carmen y Wamputsar.
Economy The most prominent economic activity in Logroño is cattle ranching followed by cultivation of tropical crops such as yucca, cacao and papaya, timber harvesting and tourism. The communities of the Upano Valley have easy access to roads and transportation while the Transcutucú region relies mostly on air travel and has limited access to outside markets.
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