I lived most of my childhood in the city of my birth
Quito (Quechua: Kitu), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes.
Quito's elevation of 2,850 m (9,350 ft) makes it either the highest or the second highest capital city in the world. This varied standing is because Bolivia is a country with multiple capitals; if La Paz is considered the Bolivian national capital, it tops the list of highest capitals, but if Sucre is specified as the capital, then it is the second highest, behind Quito.
Quito is the political and cultural center of Ecuador as the country's major governmental, administrative, and cultural institutions are located within the city. The majority of transnational companies with a presence in Ecuador are headquartered there. It is also one of the country's two major industrial centers—the port city of Guayaquil being the other one.
The date of its first habitation is unknown, but archaeological evidence suggests that it was first settled by sedentary populations between 4400 and 1600 BC.bIn the late fifteenth century, the Inca Emperor Huayna Capac defeated the Quitu, the region's original inhabitants, and incorporated Quito into the Inca Empire, designating it into the capital of the Inca Empire's northern region. The Spanish conquest of the city in 1534 is the date most frequently cited as the city's official founding, making Quito the oldest capital in South America.
Quito's historic center is among the largest and best-preserved in the Americas. In 1978, Quito and Kraków were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO. Quito is the capital city closest to the Equator, which runs through the northern part of the metropolitan area in the parish of San Antonio.
I lived in a fairly large house in one of the more affluent suburbs of town, with my parents, my grandmother and my sister and two brothers. I went to a Catholic school and I had the benefit of my siblings (I’m the youngest) efforts at school, so I had them augmenting my teachers with the result I did very well. I went to Quito university where my siblings went to study at the same university (not mine), and as a family we have been successful. Each of them live in the city still and have good careers.
I’m the odd one out, the child working in the arts overseas rather than at home.
The southern part of Quito has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), while the northern part has a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb). Because of its altitude and location on the equator, Quito has a fairly constant cool climate. The average afternoon maximum temperature is 21.4 °C (70.5 °F), and the average night-time minimum temperature is 9.8 °C (49.6 °F). The annual average temperature is 15.6 °C (60.1 °F). The city has only two seasons: dry and wet. The dry season, June through August (3 months), is referred to as summer; the wet season, September through May (9 months), is referred to as winter. Annual precipitation, depending on location, is over 1,000 mm (39 in).
Due to its altitude, Quito receives some of the greatest solar radiation in the world, sometimes reaching a UV Index of 24 by solar noon under clear skies.
The fact that Quito lies almost on the equator means that high pressure systems are extremely rare. Pressure is stable, so very low pressure systems are also rare. From 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 the lowest pressure recorded was 998.2 hPa (29.48 inHg), and the highest was 1,015.2 hPa (29.98 inHg). Despite the absence of high pressure, Quito can still experience settled weather. Generally, the highest pressure is around midnight and the lowest in the mid-afternoon.
Quito's elevation of 2,850 m (9,350 ft) makes it either the highest or the second highest capital city in the world. This varied standing is because Bolivia is a country with multiple capitals; if La Paz is considered the Bolivian national capital, it tops the list of highest capitals, but if Sucre is specified as the capital, then it is the second highest, behind Quito.
Quito is the political and cultural center of Ecuador as the country's major governmental, administrative, and cultural institutions are located within the city. The majority of transnational companies with a presence in Ecuador are headquartered there. It is also one of the country's two major industrial centers—the port city of Guayaquil being the other one.
The date of its first habitation is unknown, but archaeological evidence suggests that it was first settled by sedentary populations between 4400 and 1600 BC.bIn the late fifteenth century, the Inca Emperor Huayna Capac defeated the Quitu, the region's original inhabitants, and incorporated Quito into the Inca Empire, designating it into the capital of the Inca Empire's northern region. The Spanish conquest of the city in 1534 is the date most frequently cited as the city's official founding, making Quito the oldest capital in South America.
Quito's historic center is among the largest and best-preserved in the Americas. In 1978, Quito and Kraków were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO. Quito is the capital city closest to the Equator, which runs through the northern part of the metropolitan area in the parish of San Antonio.
I lived in a fairly large house in one of the more affluent suburbs of town, with my parents, my grandmother and my sister and two brothers. I went to a Catholic school and I had the benefit of my siblings (I’m the youngest) efforts at school, so I had them augmenting my teachers with the result I did very well. I went to Quito university where my siblings went to study at the same university (not mine), and as a family we have been successful. Each of them live in the city still and have good careers.
I’m the odd one out, the child working in the arts overseas rather than at home.
The southern part of Quito has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), while the northern part has a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb). Because of its altitude and location on the equator, Quito has a fairly constant cool climate. The average afternoon maximum temperature is 21.4 °C (70.5 °F), and the average night-time minimum temperature is 9.8 °C (49.6 °F). The annual average temperature is 15.6 °C (60.1 °F). The city has only two seasons: dry and wet. The dry season, June through August (3 months), is referred to as summer; the wet season, September through May (9 months), is referred to as winter. Annual precipitation, depending on location, is over 1,000 mm (39 in).
Due to its altitude, Quito receives some of the greatest solar radiation in the world, sometimes reaching a UV Index of 24 by solar noon under clear skies.
The fact that Quito lies almost on the equator means that high pressure systems are extremely rare. Pressure is stable, so very low pressure systems are also rare. From 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 the lowest pressure recorded was 998.2 hPa (29.48 inHg), and the highest was 1,015.2 hPa (29.98 inHg). Despite the absence of high pressure, Quito can still experience settled weather. Generally, the highest pressure is around midnight and the lowest in the mid-afternoon.
26-30, F