Zamora Chinchipe (Spanish pronunciation:[saˈmoɾatʃinˈtʃipe]),Province of Zamora Chinchipe is aprovince of theRepublicofEcuador, located at the southeastern end of theAmazon Basin, which shares borders with the Ecuadorianprovinces ofAzuay andMorona Santiago to the north,Loja and Azuay to the west, and withPeru to the east and south. The province comprises an area of approximately 10,559 km² and is covered with a uniquely mountainoustopography which markedly distinguishes it from the surrounding Amazonian provinces.Zamora-Chinchipe is characterized and largely identified by itsmining industry; indigenousethnic groups with a richarchaeological legacy; itsbiodiversity; and itsniche andtourist attractions, which include a number of waterfalls well-noted for their beauty. The province takes its name from thebureaucratic fusion of the Zamora and Chinchipecantons. The provincial capital is the city ofZamora.

Zamora Chinchipe
Province
Province of Zamora Chinchipe
A picture token of theZamora River.
Flag
Location of Zamora Chinchipe in Ecuador
Cantons of Zamora Chinchipe Province
Coordinates:4°05′54.2″S78°52′40.2″W / 4.098389°S 78.877833°W /-4.098389; -78.877833
Country	Ecuador
Established	November 10, 1953
Capital	Zamora
Cantons	List of Cantons Centinela del Cóndor Chinchipe El Pangui Nangaritza Palanda Paquisha Yacuambi Yantzaza Zamora
Government
• Prefect	Karla Reátegui (MUPP)
• Governor	Ivonne Panchi
Area
• Total	10,559 km2 (4,077 sq mi)
Population  (2022 census)[1]
• Total	110,973
• Density	11/km2 (27/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-05 (ECT)
Vehicle registration	Z
HDI (2022)	0.799[2] high ·5th

Human habitation in the region is thought to date to at least 4500 BCE, and was grounded in theMayo-Chinchipe cultural complex. In approximately 1548,Spaniards made their first contact with the region's indigenous people. On October 4, 1549,Hernando de Barahona, accompanied byAlonso de Mercadillo andHernando de Benavente, founded the city ofZamora de los Alcaides. Fifty years after their arrival, the Spanish were driven from the city by theShuar revolt. In 1850, theZamora de los Alcaides city ruins were discovered by a group of colonists. It cannot be established exactly when the firstwhite andmixed race settlers arrived in the province, but the oldest verifiable data shows that in the late 1840s, theChinchipe River basin was already inhabited by people arriving from the Loja Province of modern Ecuador and Peru. The migration was also made from the Ecuadorian Province of Azuay to theYacuambi Canton, where theSaraguros and mixed race people arrived. During theSpanish Colonial period, several explorers surveyed the territory, such as theFrenchgeographer andmathematicianCharles Marie de La Condamine in a 1743 expedition. In 1781, the Spanish made a second attempt at colonization in the area, lured by the exploitation ofgold deposits, but they found it impossible to dominate the natives.

The current settlement known asZamora was not permanently reestablished by white and mixed race settlers until March 12, 1921, when theCatholic church founded theApostolic Vicariate of Zamora, after many prior attempts at colonization, each repelled by the resistance of the Shuar people. In 1911, the Zamoraparish became cantonal head of the Zamora Canton of theProvincia de Oriente. On December 15, 1920, theSantiago-Zamora Province was created. It consisted of the Chinchipe,Macas,Morona and Zamora cantons. The Chinchipe and Zamora cantons were each constituted by three parishes. On January 5, 1921, the Yacuambi Canton was created for the Santiago-Zamora Province.

On July 5, 1941, Ecuador was invaded by Peru, with part of the unpopulated territory of the province in contention. Aceasefire was brokered between theForeign Ministers of Peru and Ecuador (with the participation of theUnited States,Brazil,Chile, andArgentina as "guarantors") capped with the signing of theRio Protocol. The treaty officially brought an end to the state of war which had existed between Ecuador and Peru, and left part of the Ecuadorian provinces ofEl Oro, Loja, and Zamora-Chinchipe under Peruvianoccupation. After the 1941 war, forced migration of impoverished peasants and citizens to the province was accelerated by drought in Loja Province, resulting in colonization of many areas of the Zamora-Chinchipe territory which had been theretofore uninhabited. The creation of the Zamora-Chinchipe Province was a twelve-year process which was due, in large part, to the indefatigable efforts of oneBenjamin Carrión, a citizen of the Ecuadorian province of Loja, and, on November 10, 1953, Zamora-Chinchipe was designated anautonomous province, being separated from the Santiago-Zamora Province by means of a legal term issued in theEcuadorian Official Registry No. 360.

In 1981, the tensions with Peru were rekindled by a military confrontation over theCenepa River in theCordillera del Cóndor. The conflict was centered in thePaquisha,Mayaycu andManchinaza localities. By 1995 the conflict had reemerged, and in 1999 the signing of thePeace Agreement between Ecuador and Peru settled the contours of Zamora-Chinchipe's borders with its southern neighbor.

Ethnic groups as of theEcuadorian census of 2010:^[3]

• Mestizo 80.3%
• Indigenous 15.6%
• White 2.1%
• Afro-Ecuadorian 1.4%
• Montubio 0.2%
• Other 0.4%

The province is divided into ninecantons. The following table lists each with its population at the 2001census, its area in square kilometres (km²), and the name of thecanton seat orcapital.^[4]

• Pachamama Raymi
• Podocarpus National Park
• Provinces of Ecuador
• Cantons of Ecuador

• Map of the Zamora-Chinchipe Province