Quito

Quito

Quito (; Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkito] (listen); Quechua: Kitu; formally San Francisco de Quito) is the capital of Ecuador, the closest capital city to the equator, and at an elevation of 2,850 m (9,350 ft) above sea level, the second-highest official capital city in the world. It is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains. In 2008, the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations.The historic center of Quito is one of the largest, least-altered, and best-preserved in the Americas. Quito and Kraków, Poland, were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO, in 1978. The central square of Quito is located about 25 km (16 mi) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 km (0.62 mi) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world) to avoid confusion since the word Ecuador is Spanish for "equator".

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