known as the Morro channel, but its entrance is obstructed by shoals and it is considered dangerous for shipping. A small port in the Jambeli channel, on the south-east shore of the gulf, is that of Puerto Bolivar, or Puerto Huaila, the shipping port for the town of Machala and the Zaruma mining region. Islands. There are few islands off the coast of Ecuador, and only one of any considerable size--that of Puna in the Gulf of Guayaquil, which is 29 m. long from north-east to south-west and 8 to 14 m. wide. It lies in the north-east part of the gulf, and is separated from the Ecuadorean mainland by the Morro channel, and from the southern mainland by the wider and deeper Jambeli channel. There is a low, mountainous ridge, called the Zampo Palo, running through it, and its eastern shores have some moderately high bluffs; otherwise the island is low and swampy, and its shores, except the eastern end, are fringed with mud banks. The island is densely wooded (in marked contrast with the opposite Peruvian shore), and is considered unhealthy throughout the greater part. It has a population of 200, chiefly centred in the village of Puna, at its north-east extremity, which is a shipping port and health resort for the city of Guayaquil. Puna island is celebrated for its connexion with Pizarro's invasion of Peru in 1531. It is said that it had a considerable population at that time, and that the natives resisted the invaders so vigorously that it cost six months to reduce them. Midway in the outer part of the Gulf of Guayaquil is Amortajada or Santa Clara island, whose resemblance to a shrouded corpse suggested the name which it bears. It lies 12 m. south-west of Puna island and 80 m. from Guayaquil. It rises to a considerable elevation, and carries a light 256 ft. above sea-level. There are some low, swampy islands, or mud flats, covered with mangrove thickets, in the lower Guayas river, but they are uninhabited and of no importance. North of the Gulf of Guayaquil there are only two small islands on the coast of more than local interest. The first of these is Salango, in lat. 1° 25' S., which is 2 m. in circumference and rises to a height of 524 ft. It is richly wooded, and has a well-sheltered anchorage much frequented by whalers in search of water and fresh provisions. The next is La Plata, in lat. 1° 16' S., which rises to a height of 790 ft., and has a deep anchorage on its eastern side where Drake is said to have anchored in 1579 to divide the spoils of the Spanish treasure ship "Cacafuego." The Galapagos Islands (q.v.) belong to the republic of Ecuador, and form a part of the province of Guayas.