Santa Elena
Ecuador
Santa Elena sits at the western tip of Ecuador's continental coast — a point the city calls "Capital of the Sea and the Land" — where an arid, warm climate and proximity to the Pacific shape daily life. The cantonal seat and provincial capital of Santa Elena province, it anchors a metropolitan cluster that includes the resort town of Salinas, with commerce, fishing, and tourism as its main economic drivers. Its modern growth traces to early 20th-century oil extraction in the surrounding area.
- Population42,214
- Nearest water0.3 km
- Nearest mountain1.3 km