Download Quito - Class Notes For Mr. Pantano

QUITO, ECUADOR
THREAT: VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS

It is a city in Ecuador (country).

It is found in South America (continent).
TOPOGRAPHICAL ZONES

Quito is divided into three zones, separated by hills.
a)
Central part:

It is historical (colonial buildings, monuments, etc.)

tourist zone

UNESCO recognized Quito's historical center
as a World Heritage site in 1978.

The historic center is one of the best-preserved
districts in Latin America.
B) SOUTHERN PART:

mainly industrial, residential & working-class
neighborhood.
C) NORTHERN PART:

This is modern Quito, with high-rise buildings,
shopping centers, the financial district and
upper class neighborhoods, and some
working-class neighborhoods.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION


Close to 2 million people commute per day.
Most commuters use public transportation
Commuter - A person who travels quite a long distance
between home and work/school.
Quito’s public transportation includes:
a)
Privately-owned buses
b)
Trolley buses or cable cars
c)
City transit buses (city-owned, like in Montreal)

Although the majority of Quito’s population uses
public transportation and taxis to commute around
the city, more and more people are buying cars.
IN MONTREAL…


Public transit is operated by the STM.
Its services include network of buses, subways, and
commuter trains that extend across and off the island
PROBLEMS IN QUITO:

Population: Approximately 3 million people
A) Infrastructure is in bad shape:
Infrastructure includes::
 Roads (need to be repaired)
 Water supply (shortage of water)
 Sewage system (above ground – risk of
contamination)
 Emergency services (not enough doctors, police
etc.)
 Trash collection (lots of trash left behind in the city)
 Parks (not well maintained)
Quito’s Water Supply
Issue

Quito gets all of its water from the rivers draining from
high volcanic ridges (a range of mountains) of the
Andean mountains.


Water pipes transport this water from the mountains to
Quito.
Not enough water reaches Quito to have a steady and
reliable supply of water.
The Salve Paccha Aquaduct,
which transports water from
Cayambe Coca to the city of
Quito, runs through the
páramos landscape at the foot
of Ecuador’s Andean range.
Photo credit: ©Bridget
Besaw/TNC - See more at:
http://blog.nature.org/science/
2014/06/04/urban-waterfootprint-extensive-andexpensive/#sthash.Spm1Lp1r.
dpuf
QUILOTOA (WATER SOURCE)

Quilotoa is beautiful crater lake.
B) There is a lot of poverty, particularly among native
people like the Andeans.
http://filipspagnoli.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/slum_in_quito.jpg

Despite the poverty and disrepair of many buildings,
the churches and cathedrals are really beautiful.

Strictly controlled development has kept it
wonderfully preserved.
NATURAL HAZARD IN
QUITO:
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
PULULAHUA VOLCANO

Its located near Quito.

It is believed to be one of only craters in the world
with human inhabitants.

Quito lies at the foot of the Pichincha volcano, and has
been damaged several times by the area's frequent
earthquakes.

Quito is the only capital
city in the world to be
directly threatened by an
active volcano.

Guagua Pichincha
volcano, only 21 km west
of Quito, has continuing
activity and is under
constant monitoring.

The largest eruption
occurred in 1660 when
over 25 cm of ash covered
the city.

The latest eruption
was recorded on
October 5 and 7,
1999, when a large
amount of ash was
deposited on the city.

The eruption caused
significant
disruption of
activities, including
closing of the
international airport.

Nearby volcanic eruptions can also affect Quito.

The city was showered with ash for several days
after an eruption occurred in the Reventador
volcano (2002).




The region also is vulnerable to earthquakes.
The worst-known earthquake to have hit Quito
occurred in 1797 and killed 40,000 people.
In 1987, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 on the
Richter scale, occurred in 1987 with an epicenter
about 80 km from the city.
It killed an estimated 1,000 near the epicenter, but
Quito itself suffered only minor damage.
THE RICHTER SCALE
The intensity of an earthquake can be
measured using the Richter scale
 A magnitude 7.0 on a Richter scale is a major
earthquake.
 The Northridge Earthquake, which hit Southern
California in 1994, was magnitude 6.7
 6.0 is considered strong
 5.0 can cause damage
 Below 4.0 usually does not cause damage
 Anything below 2.0 usually can’t be felt
EPICENTER:

The point of the earth's surface which is directly
above the focus* of an earthquake

Focus point of origin of an earthquake.
TOP TEN NATURAL DISASTERS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg6whkbZXs