Macas is the capital of the Morona-Santiago province in Ecuaor. Macas town is in southeastern Ecuador. It lies on the Upano River along the eastern slopes of the Andes, at an elevation of 3,445 feet (1,050 m). Founded by the Spanish captain José Villanueva Maldonado in the mid-16th century as the city of Sevilla del Oro (“Golden Seville”), it was a large settlement for several decades and prospered by the exploitation of nearby alluvial gold deposits.