Jalapa Department

Jalapa
Location of Jalapa in Guatemala
Data
Capital	Jalapa
population	365,400 ( ber . 2016)
surface	2,063 km²
Population density	177 people / km²
Highest elevation	Cerro Miramundo (2,709 m)
ISO 3166-2	GT-YES
Website	Inforpressca.com
Coat of arms of the Jalapa department
Flag of Jalapa Department

Jalapa is a department of Guatemala and is located in the southeast of the country (Region IV). It extends over 2,000 square kilometers and has about 365,400 inhabitants. The capital of the department is the Jalapa of the same name .

The Jalapa department borders in the north with the departments El Progreso and Zacapa , in the east with Chiquimula , in the south with Jutiapa and Santa Rosa and in the west with the department Guatemala .

National nature

Jalapa is mainly located in the central highlands. Especially in the southwest the Sierra Madre reaches heights of over 2,000 meters. To the northeast, the mountainous terrain slowly slopes down to the valley of the Río Motagua . The entire area is criss-crossed by deep valleys and rivers. Due to the different altitudes, there is a multitude of different climatic regions. In general, the climate is temperate, with temperatures between 15 and 27 ° C.

population

The population speaks mainly Spanish, the few indigenous people also speak Pocomam . Jalapa is divided into seven Municipios ( large municipalities or districts ):

Jalapa	San Pedro Pinula
San Luis Jilotepeque	San Manuel Chaparron
San Carlos Alzatate	Monjas
Mataquescuintla

As a state administrative district , the department is headed by a governor sent by the central government . The Municipios are independent regional authorities with elected mayors and representatives of the people and are subdivided into Aldeas (rural communities) and Caseríos, Parajes or Fincas ( hamlets and farms ).

economy

Due to the different altitudes, agriculture produces a wide range of products, including coffee , potatoes , corn , beans , bananas , cassava , tobacco and sugar cane . Also of importance is the horse - and livestock and crafts. Tourism only plays a subordinate role. The somewhat remote department is connected to Guatemala City via national road 18 and with the Panamericana (CA-1) and Interoceanica (CA-9) via national road 19 . The city of Jalapa has an airfield for general aviation .

Attractions

At San Pedro Pinula there are the small waterfalls of Los Chorros, where there are also swimming opportunities. In the very south, near Monjas, the deep lake Laguneta del Hoyo is worth seeing. For mountaineers, the high-altitude hiking trail from Mataescuintla to Jalapa in the southwest, which leads over the highest mountains in the department (Cerro Miramundo), is interesting. The Parque Pino Dulce nature reserve north of the trail is one of the main attractions in the region. North of the capital Jalapa is the Jumay volcano (2,176 m). Maya ruins can be seen in Chagüite, San Nicolás, Xalapán (near Jalapa), in El Recreo and El Durazno (near San Pedro Pinula) as well as in Pueblo Viejo in the far south.

history

In the colonial times, the area of ​​today's department belonged to the Corregimiento de Chiquimula . After the severe earthquake of 1773, plans were made to relocate the capital of the General Capitanate of Guatemala from Antigua Guatemala to Jalapa. A commission of experts considered both the location and the climate suitable, but advised against the construction of a large capital in Jalapa due to the lack of water. The Jalapa area was elevated to a department on November 24, 1873. The name Jalapa is derived from the Mayan term xalapán , which means something like "sandy water".

Web links

• Overview of the department (Spanish)

Coordinates: 14 ° 38 ′  N , 89 ° 59 ′  W