Blazon

Coat of Arms of Ecuador

In the background of the oval shield is the mount Chimborazo, while the river originating from its base represents the Guayas. They both symbolize the beauty and wealth of the respective regions (Sierra or Costa).

The ship on the river is named Guayas as well. In 1841 it was built in Guayaquil and was the first seaworthy steamship built on the South American west coast.

Instead of a mast it features a Caduceus representing trade and economy. On top a golden sun surrounded by the astrological signs for Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer representing the months March to July to symbolize the duration of the March Revolution of 1845.

The condor on top of thea shield stretches his wings to symbolize power, greatness and strength of Ecuador. The shield is flanked by four flags of Ecuador. The laurel on the left represents the victories of the republic. The palm leaf on the right side is a symbol of the martyrs of the fight for independence and liberty. The Fasces below the shield represents the republican dignity.

Usage

The coat of arms is used by the President, the parliament, the ministries and several other authorities and public institutions. It is part of the flag, and used on many coins and bills of the former currency Sucre and the coins used today, Centavos del dólar of Ecuadorian mintage.

History

The shield was introduced after the victory of the liberal revolution of 1845, but then flanked by white-blue-white flags; which where then replaced in the reintroduction of the Tricolor flags. The coat of arms in its current form was approved by congress on October 31, 1900.

Free Province of Guayaquil (1820)

Gran Colombia (1821-1830)

Ecuador (1830 – 1835)

Ecuador (1835 – 1843)

Ecuador (1843 – 1845)

Ecuador (1845 – 1900)

Flag of Ecuador — La Tricolor (The Tricolor)

The flag of Ecuador, which consists of horizontal bands of yellow (double width), blue and red, was first adopted on September 26, 1860. The design of the current flag was finalized in 1900 with the addition of the coat of arms in the center of the flag.

Before using the yellow, blue and red tricolor, Ecuador used white and blue flags that contained stars for each province of the country.

The design of the flag is very similar to that of Colombia and Venezuela, which are also former constituent territories of Gran Colombia. All three are based on a proposal by Venezuelan General Francisco de Miranda, which was adopted by Venezuela in 1811 and later Gran Colombia with some modifications.

There is a variant of the flag that does not contain the coat of arms that is used by the merchant marine. This flag matches Colombia’s in every aspect, but Colombia uses a different design when her merchant marine ships are at sail.

Design

Construction sheet of the Ecuador flag

The Ecuadorian National Secretariat of Communication (Secretaría Nacional de Comunicación) issued regulations describing the applications and proportions of the national flag, coat of arms, and other national symbols in November 2009.

The national flag has a length of 2.20 meters and a width of 1.47 m, a ratio of 2 by 3. The field is split into three horizontal colored bands, a yellow band of one-half the flag’s width, a blue band of one-quarter the width, and a red band of one-quarter the width. All three bands extend the full length of the flag.

The flag is charged with the Ecuadorian coat of arms, one-half the width of the flag and one half its height, centered in the field. The coat of arms itself is constructed in a rectangle with proportions 12 by 10. The national standard has the same design as the national flag, but is square, with length 0.9 m and width 0.9 m.

When used by military units and organizations, lettering can encircle the coat of arms with a diameter of 55 centimeters. The lettering must be 4 cm in height, 3 cm in width, gold-colored Roman font, embroidered with gold thread. The only other regulated size is a table flag (banderola) where the flag is 200 mm wide and 300 mm long.

When manufacturing the national flag, sellers to the public must include the name of their company, along with the year of manufacture, by placing a 20×10 mm tag on the reverse side of the flag on the sleeve.

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of Ecuador

In the 1989 specifications issued to the Ecuadorian Military, the coat of arms has only eight colors that are used on the flag. The eight colors are yellow, blue, red (all from the national flag), sky blue, green, grey, silver and gold.

There is also a nine piece instruction on how to draw the coat of arms, followed by a full color drawing and a black and white drawing of the arms.

No size specifications have been laid out for the coat of arms except for when it is used on the national flag.

Symbolism

Miranda ascribed the colours he chose for his flag to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s theory of primary colours. In a letter written to Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov in 1792, Miranda described a late-night conversation which he had with Goethe at a party in Weimar, Germany during the winter of 1785.

Fascinated with Miranda’s account of his exploits in the American Revolutionary War and his travels throughout the Americas and Europe, Goethe told him that, “Your destiny is to create in your land a place where primary colours are not distorted.” He proceeded to clarify what he meant:

“First he explained to me the way the iris transforms the light into the three primary colours… then he said, “Why yellow is the most warm, noble and closest to the bright light; why Blue is that mix of excitement and serenity, so far that it evokes the shadows; and why Red is the exaltation of Yellow and Blue, the synthesis, the vanishing of the bright light into the shadows”.”

The first time the yellow, blue and red flag was flown by Miranda was in 1806 on the ship Leander when trying to face the Spanish forces off of the coast of Haiti. The colors of the modern Ecuadorian flag evolved from those of the flag of the nation of Gran Colombia, which encompassed the territories of modern-day Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. The colors have the following meanings:

• Yellow: The Sun and the Gold of the ancestors
• Blue: The ocean and the clear skies
• Red: The blood spilled by the heroes who died in the name of their countrymen’s Fatherland and Freedom

History

A flag with five horizontal stripes and three stars in the middle stripe. This flag subsequently became that of the Guayas Province, and was first raised by the patriots in the liberation of October 9, 1820.

fter the territory of Ecuador was conquered by Sebastián de Benalcázar, the emblems of the Spanish Empire flew over the newly founded city of Quito.

The first calls for independence from the Spanish crown came on August 10, 1809; a plain red flag was flown by the rebels. The independence movement was defeated in November 1812 at the hands of Spanish officer Juan Sámano.

On October 9, 1820, a new flag, a blue and white bicolour, with five horizontal alternating stripes, and three white stars in the middle stripe, was raised for the first time. The three stars represent Guayaquil, Portoviejo and Machala. This flag was later adopted by the Guayas Province.

Gabriel García Moreno, upon assuming power two days after the Battle of Guayaquil in September 1860, the yellow, blue and red triband was returned to use; its reinstatement on September 26 is commemorated during Ecuador’s national flag day.

Previously, a vertical white, blue and white flag was used. In the middle of the blue stripe, there were white stars placed to signify the number of provinces in Ecuador. The highest star total was seven before this flag was abandoned.

In 1900, the flag was made the definitive national standard, and was charged with the coat of arms for official national government use while the plain flag was reserved for the merchant marine.

Pledge and Hymn

Students and military cadets in Ecuador are required to recite a pledge to the flag, known as the “Juramento a la Bandera” or “Pledge to the Flag.” This pledge is usually stated during national holiday or important school functions, such as graduations.

There is also a patriotic song called the “Himno a la Bandera” (“Hymn to the Flag”) that is after the “Juramento a la Bandera” or before flag retirement ceremonies.

Variants

According to Registro Oficial No. 1272, a decree signed into law on December 5, 1900, there are two official designs of the national flag. Article Two established the national banner as the tricolor with the yellow stripe doubling the size of the blue and red stripes. Article Three establishes the national flag charged with the coat of arms and is directed to be used by the military, government offices and diplomatic agents outside of Ecuador.

Flag used by municipal buildings

While this law establishes the flag with the coat of arms as the state flag, it did not forbid the civilian population from using the flag. The only restriction is stated in Article Six where the merchant marine is restricted to using the flag without the coat of arms. Because of this, this has been construed to be the civil flag as it was practiced in other South American countries, such as Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.

Unlike Ecuador, several of these South American countries forbade the civilian population from using the national flag with the coat of arms or, in the case of Argentina until 1985, the national flag charged with the Sun of May in the middle.

Peru and Bolivia still restricts the usage of the state flag to just the government bodies and institutions and reserves the plain flags for national celebrations or as directed by law. However, in practice the flag with the coat of arms is often used in place of the plain flag, especially when it is important to distinguish the latter from the flag of Colombia.

In the case when Colombian merchant marine ships are at sea, the Colombian national flag is charged with a red and blue oval with a white star in the center.

For city governments, Article 4 in the 1900 decree forbids them from using the national flag with the coat of arms. A special flag was created for the city governments to use; it is a plain national flag charged with white stars that are placed in a circle pattern.

The number of white stars will correspond to the number of provinces in Ecuador. However, this flag is identical to Venezuela’s flag from 1905 until 1930, and similar to Venezuela’s current flag (the stars are now in a semi circle pattern).

Derivatives

Flag of Loja Province, Ecuador

Palestina Canton uses the national flag on their flag. Placed in the canton, the Ecuador flag is shown with three even stripes, while the rest of the flag is colored olive green. The use of the Ecuador flag was described by the Palestina government as “unity with the motherland” and olive green represents progress.

Loja Province adopted a flag in 1963 that copied the design of the national flag. This was done by the creator of the flag to show his “honor and admiration” to the homeland.

Another province, Napo, chose their flag that copied the design of the national flag without the coat of arms. The only modification that was performed was to put a white strip between the blue and yellow.

Resemblance to Other Flags

The flag of Colombia

The flags of Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, can all trace their roots to the flag of the nation of Gran Colombia (1819–1830), the short-lived republic that encompassed the territories of all three. The Gran Colombian flag in turn was inspired by the flag of the First Republic of Venezuela, the first independent government of that nation. The flag of the Venezuelan Republic was modeled on the one created earlier by General Francisco de Miranda during his attempts to gain Venezuelan independence and which first flew over the port of La Vela in Santa Ana de Coro, Venezuela, in 1806.

As of 2006, the Ecuadoran flag still shares some similarity with the flags of Colombia and Venezuela. All three flags use the yellow, blue and red tricolor, but that is where the similarities end. In a decree passed in Colombia in 1934, the ratio of the stripes were set at 2:1:1 and the flag ratio was set at 2:3, similar to the present Ecuador flag. However, the coat of arms is only charged in the middle of the flag when it is used by government officials or by military forces.

State flag of Venezuela

For Venezuela, the basic design was to have all three strips even vertically, unlike those of Colombia and Ecuador.

Since 1863, Venezuela decided to charge their flag with white stars instead of a coat of arms. A coat of arms was not added to the national flag until 1954, then changed again in 2006 to add another star and alter the coat of arms.

The position of the coat of arms on the Venezuelan flag also differs from Ecuador and Colombia by placing the arms at the very top hoist (left) side of the flag instead of in the center.

Cotopaxi seen from the high plain (3.700 + m.) of Cotopaxi National Park

Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 28 km (17 mi) south of Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft).

Cotopaxi has an almost symmetrical cone that rises from a highland plain of about 3,800 metres (12,500 ft), with a width at its base of about 23 kilometres (14 mi). It has one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world, which starts at the height of 5,000 metres (16,400 ft).

The mountain is clearly visible on the skyline from Quito. It is part of the chain of volcanoes around the Pacific plate known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.

The volcano is the subject of 1855 and 1862 paintings by Frederic Edwin Church.

Volcanic activity

"Cotopaxi" by Frederic Edwin Church, 1862

Cotopaxi is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. However, claims that Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in the world are incorrect. Llullaillaco volcano is considerably higher and is definitely in an active phase, having erupted as recently as 1877.

Ojos del Salado is higher still, and there are indications near its summit of recent activity, although its remoteness precludes a definitive statement as to whether it is currently active.

Since 1738, the Cotopaxi has erupted more than 50 times, which created the numerous valleys formed by lahars (mudflows) around the volcano. The Cotopaxi poses a high risk to the local population, their settlements and fields.

Cotopaxi’s most violent eruptions in historical times occurred in the years 1744, 1768, and 1877. In the 1877 eruption pyroclastic flows descended all sides of the mountain, with lahars traveling more than 100 km into the Pacific Ocean and western Amazon basin draining the valley.

There was a major eruption in 1903 through 1904, and some minor activity in 1942 as well as 1975 but it did not produce any major events. In the most recent case, fumarolic activities and sulfuric emissions increased and ice around the inside and on the southeastern side of the cone started to melt.

The main danger of a huge eruption of Cotopaxi would be the flow of ice from its glacier. If there were to be a very large explosion, it would destroy most of the settlements within the valley in the suburban area of Quito (pop. more than 1,000,000). Another city which would be in great danger is Latacunga which is located in the south valley. In 1744 and 1768 an eruption destroyed the colonial town of Latacunga.

Climbing

Cotopaxi as seen from Illiniza

The first European who tried to climb the mountain was Alexander von Humboldt in 1802, however, he only reached a height of about 4500 m. In 1858 Moritz Wagner investigated the mountain, but he could not reach the summit either. On November 27, 1872, geologist Wilhelm Rajss finally reached the summit of Cotopaxi.

In 1873 it was summited by Moritz Alphons Stübel, then in 1880 by Edward Whymper. Painters Rudolf Reschreiter and Hans Meyer reached the summit in 1903 and many of Reschreiter’s paintings feature a view of Cotopaxi.

Today, mountain guide companies offer regular guided climbs of the mountain. These involve driving to a height of 4300 m. At 4800 m is the José Ribas mountain hut, where climbers can spend the night and from which their summit bid begins.

Climbing Cotopaxi is alpine F/PD grade, and relatively popular, with sometimes 100 climbers attempting it on weekends. It is normally done from the mountain hut at 4800m on north side, without any intermediate camps. A 4WD track goes up from the national park entrance to 4600m altitude, just below the hut. Adventure tourism operators in Quito offer mountain biking tours from that point downhill along the track.

Etymology

Many sources claim that Cotopaxi means “Neck of the Moon” in an indigenous language, but this is unproven. It was honored as a “Sacred Mountain” by local Andean peoples, even prior to the beginning of Inca domination in the 15th century. It was worshiped as “rain sender”, that served as the guarantor of the land’s fertility, and at the same time its summit was revered as a place where gods lived.

In Art

Cotopaxi is commonly depicted in the traditional paintings of the indigenous people of Tigua as the volcano holds significant cultural value.