General Villamil, also known as Playas, is a Guayas canton

Cantons of Ecuador

The Cantons of Ecuador are the second-level subdivisions of Ecuador, below the provinces. There are 226 cantons in the country, of which three are not in any province. The cantons are further sub-divided into parishes, which are classified as either urban or rural...

 in Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador 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, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

. The Playas canton is located at the south western area of the Guayas Province

Guayas Province

Guayas is a coastal province in Ecuador. It is bordered to the west by Manabí, Santa Elena, and the Pacific Ocean ; to the east by Los Ríos, Bolívar, Chimborazo, Cañar, and Azuay; to the north by Los Ríos and Bolívar; and to the south by El Oro and the Pacific Ocean.With a population of over 3...

. Its Canton Capital is General José de Villamil, also known as Playas. Its located at 96 kilómeters from the capital of the Guayas Province, Guayaquil

Guayaquil

Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...

. It limits to the north and east with Guayaquil Canton, on the west with Santa Elena Province, and to south with the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.
Its territory has an area of 280 km2 and has a population of 31000 citizens, with 25000 of them living in the cantons capital.

Natural Resources

The terrain at Playas canton is mostly plain, but to the north there are few hills like:

• cerro Colorado
• cerro Picón
• cerro Cantera

It has a large coastline; the main beaches are located to the south.
The main rivers in the Playas Canton are: Arena River, Moñones and Tambiche.
The weather is hot and dry. The beaches are freshened by the ocean wind.

The land is mostly arid due to the long term droughts and the hot weather. The most common native plant is the algarrobo

Algarrobo

Algarrobo may refer to:* The European carob tree * South American trees of the genus Prosopis* On Cuba, the Albizia saman tree * Algarrobo, Chile, a city in Chile* Algarrobo, Magdalena a town in Colombia...

, which sprouts the algarrobita, used as a high quality energizant.
One of the main activities of the canton is fishing. Along with local independent fishermen, there are mostly shrimp and tuna industries.
The Ecuadorian sea provides Playas a great variety of fish and seafood that along with the tourism and pool shrimp sowing conform the main activities of its population.

Turism

Playas, being at 97 kilometers from Guayaquil, receives a large number of turists from the province capital, as well as from the rest of Ecuador. The canton receives turism boost on the hot months from January to April, period of time known as "the beach season".
Its main festivities, events and carnivals are:

JANUARY

• Cabalgata de los Reyes (Kings Horse riding)

FEBRUARY

• Carnival in Playas
• Election of Carnival's Queen
• International Skate Board championship "Playas Xtreme"

MARCH

• Beach Volleyball Southamerican circuit
• Bicycle racing

APRIL

• Master Championship of Nautic mile
• Surf Championship
• Raft Race

JUNE

• Fishermen "San Pedro" folk holliday

JULY

• Winter "Beach Season" opening

AUGUST

• Celebration and parade for tursm workers.
• Parties in canton-becoming day.

SEPTEMBER

• Merced Virgin honor celebrations.

Weather