Esmeraldas is the word for 'emeralds' in Portuguese and Spanish. It may refer to:
The Esmeraldas River is a river in northwestern Ecuador that flows into the Pacific Ocean at the city of Esmeraldas. Among its tributaries is the Guayllabamba River which drains Quito. Charles Marie de la Condamine sailed up it and then climbed the Andes Mountains when on the Ecuadorian Expedition that left France in May 1735.
Esmeraldas (Spanish pronunciation: [ezmeˈɾaldas]) is a coastal city in northwestern Ecuador. It is the seat of the Esmeraldas Canton and capital of the Esmeraldas Province. It has an international sea port and a small airport (IATA location identifier: ESM). Esmeraldas is the major seaport of northwestern Ecuador, and it lies on the Pacific coast at the mouth of the Esmeraldas River. It is exactly at the antipodes of Padang, Indonesia. The city is the principal trading hub for the region's agricultural and lumber resources, and is the terminus of the 313-mile (504-km) Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline from the oil fields in northeastern Ecuador.
Esmeraldas is well known around Latin America given the large number of locals that have historically played in the Ecuadorian national football team.
The port of Esmeraldas is economically important for the northern part of Ecuador, and the port of Balao is an important oil processing facility. Exports from Esmeraldas include wood and wood chips, bananas, and other agricultural products.