Riobamba years later away from its original location (near a village named Cajabamba on the plains of San Antonio de Aguíscate). The city still retains much architecture from the Spanish period. In the Ecuadorian War of Independence Riobamba first declared independence on November 11, 1820 but was soon retaken. The city finally became part of an independent Gran Colombia in 1822, and then a separate Republic of Ecuador in 1830. On 20 November 2002, 7 people were killed and hundreds wounded when an explosion in the munitions depot at the Galapagos Brigade arsenal in Riobamba set off a series of blasts.
USS Simon Bolivar (SSBN-641) a raging winter storm with waves breaking repeatedly over the ship, its sail and the harnassed watchstanders in the cockpit of the sail. Inside the ship the crew endured difficult conditions due to constant rolling of the circular hull in the high sea state. "Simon Bolivar" continued a high speed surface run until the evacuation point was reached enabling a transfer of the seriously ill crewman. The "Simon Bolivar" then returned to open ocean and resumed alert patrol status ending with a return to the Charleston SSBN site. The evacuated crew member survived though he never returned to the "Simon