Baños, Azuay
Encyclopedia
Baños is a town and parish
Parishes of Ecuador
The Parishes of Ecuador are the third-level administrative units of Ecuador. The Cantons of Ecuador are divided into parishes which are similar to municipalities or communes in many countries. There are over 1,500 parishes in Ecuador....

 in Cuenca Canton
Cuenca Canton
Cuenca Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Azuay Province. Its capital is the town of Cuenca. During the census of 2001 the canton had 417,632 inhabitants and in 2010 it had 712,127 inhabitants.- Division :The canton is divided into parishes...

, Azuay Province
Azuay Province
Azuay is a province of Ecuador, created 25 June 1824. It encompasses an area of . Its capital is Cuenca. It is located in the south center of Ecuador in the highlands. Its mountains reach above sea level in the national park of El Cajas....

, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

. The parish covers an area of 327.3 km² and according to the 2001 Ecuadorian census it had a population total of 12, 271.

History

Baños was established in the early seventeenth century, when the Spanish exploited the gold and silver mines in the area. Historical records indicate that in 1693 the town branched out after the building of the parish church. Baños was officially recognized as a parish in 1852.

Geography

The town of Baños is located just 8 kilometres southwest of the city of Cuenca
Cuenca, Ecuador
Cuenca is the capital of the Azuay Province. It is located in the highlands of Ecuador at about 2500 m above sea level...

. It borders San Joaquín
San Joaquín
San Joaquín is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region.The alcalde's office and municipal building is located at Ave...

 parish to the north, Tarqui
Tarqui, Cuenca Canton
Tarqui is a parish in Cuenca Canton, Azuay, Ecuador.It encompasses the communities of Atucloma, Santa Lucrecia, Tañiloma, Acchayacu, Bellavista, Las Américas - Estación, Gullanzhapa, Morascalle, Tutupali Chico, Tutupali Grande, Manzanapamba, El Verde, Chaullayacu, Santa Rosa, Chilcatotora,...

 and Victoria del Portete
Victoria del Portete
Victoria del Portete is a town and parish in Cuenca Canton, Azuay Province, Ecuador. The parish covers an area of 206 km² and according to the 2001 Ecuadorian census it had a population total of 4,617....

 to the south, San Gerardo, Chumblín and San Fernando and Zhaglli to the east, and with Chaucha
Chaucha
Chaucha is a town and parish in Cuenca Canton, Azuay Province, Ecuador. The parish covers an area of 337.2 km² and according to the 2001 Ecuadorian census it had a population total of 1,633....

 to the west. Baños covers an area of 327,3 km², which accounts for 10.6 percent of the total area of the canton of Cuenca.

Economy

The economy of the parish is based around retailing and tourism which accounts for most of the population, followed by agriculture and livestock which accounts for 24 per cent of the population, manufacturing industries (18%) and construction industries (17 %). The main crops include maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, beans, potatoes and other vegetables. Clothes and furniture are amongst the most common products manufactured in Baños. The service sector provides jobs in the accommodation and restaurant services, transport and shops to cater for tourists visiting Cuenca and the surrounding canton. However, unemployment is a problem within the parish and led to 936 people migrating from the parish between November 1996 and 2001, mostly to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Between 2005 and 2009 the provincial government of Azuay Province invested US $1,650,000 in public works in the parish, inclusing road infrastructure, educational facilities, sanitation, and socio-economic projects, some of them being water development schemes.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK