The river Guayaquil is not only the largest but the most important of all the streams in the jurisdiction. It rises in the Andes, and pursuing a serpentine course, flows into the Pacific in the Bay of Puna. The torrents which flow in all directions from the mountains, contribute to swell this river, and in winter it inundates the country to a great extent. Its mouth is about three miles wide, at Isla Verde and at Guayaquil still broader; the distance on it from this city to the custom-house of Babahoyo is twenty-four and a half leagues, and it is navigable four leagues further. The tides reach as far as the custom-house in summer, but in winter the current is so strong, that the tides are often imperceptible. The mouth of the river is so full of shifting sands, that the passage of large vessels is rendered very dangerous. Its banks are decorated with country-seats and cottages inhabited by fishermen. By means of this fine stream, Guayaquil exports the produce of its departments to Peru, Panama, and Quito, receiving European goods from Tierra Firme; from New Spain, and Guatimala, naptha, tar, cordage and indigo. The other large rivers are those called Yaguache, Baba, and Daule, along the banks of which most of the Indians have formed their habitations. The capital of the whole district is _Guayaquil_, a city of considerable importance, at the bottom of the gulf of Guayaquil, and at the mouth of the river of the same name, in 2° 12ʹ south latitude, and 79° 6ʹ west longitude. It was founded in the year 1534 or 1535, by Benalcazar; but was destroyed after several furious attacks by the Indians. In 1537 it was rebuilt by Orellana at some distance from its first scite, on the declivity of a mountain; and in 1693, great additions were made to it, on the other side of a branch of the river, which now divides the city into two parts, known by the names of the New and Old towns, communicating with each other by a long bridge. The houses are constructed mostly of wood or whitened earth. It has suffered repeatedly by conflagrations, and was reduced to ashes in 1764, since which, the government have forbid the inhabitants to thatch their houses with straw. The streets of the new town are straight and wide, and well paved; arcades run along before all the houses, so that the people can walk protected from the rain and sun. It is now one of the handsomest towns of South America, but the marshes in its neighbourhood, combined with the heat of the climate, render it very unhealthy. It has a handsome church, college, convents, and an hospital, and is governed by a corregidor, who is named by the king of Spain, and who holds his office for five years. There is also a treasury and revenue office, for the receipt of the Indian capitation-tax, the duties on imports and exports and other taxes; and the bishop of Quito sends a vicar to govern the church.