Nueva Loja

Nueva Loja
City
Flag
Nueva Loja
Coordinates: 00°05′05″N 76°52′58″W / 0.08472°N 76.88278°WCoordinates: 00°05′05″N 76°52′58″W / 0.08472°N 76.88278°W[1]
Country	Ecuador
Province	Sucumbíos
Canton	Lago Agrio
Founded	May 5, 1971
Area
• City	379.80 km^2 (146.64 sq mi)
Elevation	297 m (974 ft)
Population (2010 census)[2]
• City	57,727
• Density	150/km^2 (390/sq mi)
• Metro	91,744
Demonym(s)	Neolojano, -a
Area code(s)	(+593) 06
Website	www.lagoagrio.gob.ec (Spanish)

Nueva Loja,^[1] also known as Lago Agrio, is the capital of the province of Sucumbíos in Ecuador. It was founded in the 1960s as a base camp of Texaco. The official population as of the 2010 census is 57,727.^[2]

Overview

Nueva Loja is located in central Sucumbíos, in the Amazonian forest, and is one of the most important cities in northeastern Ecuador. Its importance comes from the oil extraction. It is named after Loja as many of the first colonizers came from the Southern Province of Loja.

The area around the city, the Lago Agrio oil field, has many ecological problems. The rainforest has been all but obliterated in this region and environmental degradation is severe, with catastrophic oil pollution in some areas. On February 14, 2011, a judge in Lago Agrio ruled that Chevron, now owner of Texaco, had to pay $9 billion in environmental damages for polluting the rainforest, in an unprecedented environmental ruling.^[3]

Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia was born in Nueva Loja.

Air transport

The city is served by Lago Agrio Airport, with daily flights from/to Quito.

See also

• Lago Agrio oil field

References

1. Nueva Loja, Sucumbios, Ecuador at GEOnet Names Server. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
2. "Population data for Nueva Loja". Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. at "World Gazetteer". Archived from the original on 4 December 2012.. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
3. "Ecuador Judge Orders Chevron to Pay $9 Billion". The New York Times. 14 February 2011.