Puná Island is an Island off the coast of southern
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") 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 that...
at approximately
80 degrees west longitudeThe meridian 80° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, Central America, South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.In Antarctica, the...
and
3 degrees south latitudeThe 3rd parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 3 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
. It is located at the head of the
Gulf of GuayaquilThe Gulf of Guayaquil is a large body of water of the Pacific Ocean in western South America. Its northern limit is the city of Salinas, in Ecuador, and its southern limit is Punta Pariñas, in Peru.The gulf takes its name from the city of Guayaquil...
, south of the mouth of the
Guayas RiverThe Guayas River is a river in western Ecuador. It gives name to the Guayas Province, and it is the most important river in South America that does not flow into the Atlantic Ocean or any of its seas. Its total length, including the Daule River, is 389 km....
and the city of
GuayaquilGuayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador, as well as that nation's main port. The city is the capital of the Ecuadorian province of Guayas and the seat of the namesake canton....
, Ecuador's largest city and chief port. It is bordered by Jambelí Channel on the east and Morro Channel on the west, both of which connect the open Gulf of Guayaquil to the narrow mouth of the Guayas River. The total area of Puná Island is 330 sq. mi. (855 km²).
History
The
Battle of PunáThe Battle of Puná, a peripheral engagement of Francisco Pizarro's conquest of Peru, was fought in April 1531 on the island of Puná . Pizarro's conquistadors, boasting superior weaponry and tactical skill, decisively defeated the island's indigenous inhabitants...
, fought on the island in April 1531, was an engagement of
Francisco PizarroFrancisco Pizarro González, 1st Marqués de los Atabillos was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru. Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura, modern Spain. Sources differ in the birth year they assign to him: 1471, 1475–1478, or...
's during the Spanish conquest of Peru. It was fought by the Spanish conquistadores against the native Tumbez people who had managed to resist even the vast
Inca EmpireThe Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca Empire arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in early 13th century...
.
The missionary first bishop of Cuzco, Vincent de Valverde, was put to death there by the Indians on 31 October 1541.
Puná Island is where
rugby union in Ecuador-Governing body:The governing body is the Federación Ecuatoriana de Rugby, which is affiliated to CONSUR but not to the IRB-History:Rugby union is found to some extent in Ecuador, with teams in Guayaquil, Quito, and Cuenca....
was first played, in the 1930s, by English merchants.
Sources