Machala is a city in south-west Ecuador, capital of the El Oro Province. It is located near the Gulf of Guayaquil on fertile lowlands. It has a population of 216,901 (2000 estimate). Machala is sought to be the "Banana Capital of the World" Map of El Oro Province in Ecuador. ... The Gulf of Guayaquil is a large body of water of the Pacific Ocean in western South America. ... Fertile may be used in the following conrtext: Fertility, a term used to describe the ability of people or animals to produce healthy offspring. ... Disambiguation: For the region of Scotland please see Scottish Lowlands Lowlands, also known as A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise, is a music festival, held annually in the Netherlands in August. ...

Machala is a commercial centre for the surrounding agriculture industries. There is a large trade in bananas, coffee and cocoa. Especially banana industry is orientated to exportation, and plays a huge role in the city's economy. It houses a university and serves as a stopping-off point on the way to nearby port Puerto Bolívar and the Jambelí Islands. Machala has a small airport which currently has no commercial flights (IATA location identifier: MCH). In the past there have been flights to Guayaquil and Quito with Ecuadorian airline TAME. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A cup of coffee Workers sorting and pulping coffee beans in Guatemala Mature coffee fruit still on the plant Coffee is a widely consumed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds — commonly referred to as beans — of the coffee plant. ... Cocoa beans in a cacao pod Cocoa is the dried and partially fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... Seaport, a painting by Claude Lorrain, 1638 The Port of Wellington at night. ... An IATA airport code, known by the IATA as an IATA location identifier or, simply, a location identifier [1], is a three-letter alphabetic code designating many airports around the world. ...

Most hotels are situated in the centre of the city. A hotel is an establishment that provides lodging, usually on a short-term basis. ...

Esmeraldeño soccer forward Eduardo Hurtado played in Machala's professional soccer team Audaz Octubrino. Esmeraldas is a city in Ecuador. ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... Strikers, also known as centre forwards, forwards, and attackers, are the players on a team in football (soccer) in the row nearest to the opposing teams goal, who are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals. ... Eduardo Hurtado (born January 12, 1969 in Esmeraldas, Ecuador) is a soccer striker, the all-time leading scorer for the Ecuador national team (tied with Agustin Delgado) with 26 goals in 74 caps. ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... The Club Deportivo Audaz Octubrino is a professional soccer team from the city of Machala in Ecuador. ...

External links

• Municipio de Machala Web site of the municipality in Spanish
• Diario Correo - El Diario de Todos News about Machala in Spanish

Coordinates: 3°16′S, 79°58′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...