Santa Rosa Department (Guatemala)
| Santa Rosa | |
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| Data | |
| Capital | Cuilapa |
| population | 382,700 (calculation 2016) |
| surface | 2,955 km² |
| Population density | 130 inhabitants / km² |
| structure | 14th |
| ISO 3166-2 | GT-SR |
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Santa Rosa is a department of Guatemala and is located in the south of the country on the Pacific coast (Region IV). The department has an area of 2,955 km² and around 382,700 inhabitants. The capital is Cuilapa .
Santa Rosa is bordered by Jalapa to the northeast, Jutiapa to the east, the Pacific to the south, Escuintla to the west and Guatemala to the northwest .
National nature
In the north, Santa Rosa has a share in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas , which there still reaches heights of about 2,000 m. To the south, the land slopes gently to the lowlands and the Pacific coast. In this direction it is also crossed by a number of rivers, of which the Río Los Esclavos is the most important. The highlands are shaped by the volcanoes Tecuamburro (1,945 m), Cruz Quemada (1,690 m), Jumaytepeque (1,815 m) and Cerro Redondo (1,220 m). Typical of the highlands are the crater lakes (" lagoons ") near the volcanoes , of which the 14 km² Laguna de Ayarza in the northeast is also known as a tourist attraction. The very fertile volcanic soils of the southern lowlands produce lush tropical vegetation , but most of this has to give way to agriculture. The black sand beaches, behind which there are partly drained swamp areas , are also of volcanic origin . About half a kilometer behind the coast runs the Canal de Chiquimulilla , an approximately 120 km long navigable waterway from Sipacate in Escuintla to the border with El Salvador that was laid out in the 1930s . Parts of the canal and swamp area with its mangrove forests , which provide refuge for water birds and turtles , have been placed under nature protection.
The climate in the north of Santa Rosa is temperate to hot (on the upper reaches of the Rïo Los Esclavos), in the south there is tropical heat, which is also accompanied by high humidity during the rainy season (May to October) . Temperatures generally range between 15 and 29 ° C, and the average annual rainfall is 1,800 mm.
In Santa Rosa, near San Juan de Arana ( Cuilapa ), is the geographical center of the American double continent .
population
The population only speaks Spanish . Of the few remaining Xinca and Pipiles , very few elderly people have any knowledge of their ancient ancestral language. The approximately 382,700 inhabitants of the department live in 14 municipalities ( large communities or districts ):
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 and Pueblos (rural communities) as well as Caseríos, Parajes, Fincas, Rancherías ( hamlets and farms ).
economy
The most important industries in Santa Rosa are agriculture and tourism . After the end of the coffee boom , the large landowners switched most of their production to sugar cane . Bananas , corn , beans and other types of fruit and vegetables are of secondary importance. The Pacific beaches and the tourist places like Monterrico and Las Lisas are very important for Santa Rosa . Monterrico belongs to the Municipio Taxisco and can be easily reached from Guatemala City via Puerto San José ( Escuintla ). Santa Rosa is crossed by two important traffic axes to El Salvador.
history
Before the Spanish Conquista , the area of today's department was ruled by Xinca. In the middle of the 15th century Pocom immigrated from northern Guatemala and were soon assimilated by the Xinca. The same thing happened to the Pipiles coming from the east. Pedro de Alvarado succeeded in subjugating the warlike Xinca only after heavy fighting. They were among the first “ Indians ” to be downright enslaved. The name of the Río Los Esclavos and some place names are reminiscent of this. During the colonial era, much of what is now Santa Rosa belonged to Escuintla.
In 1825 the Constituent National Assembly of Guatemala divided the national territory into seven departments. One of them was Guatemala-Escuintla. This also included the Cuilapa district , which was renamed Santa Rosa in 1848 and raised to the department of the same name on May 8, 1852. From 1871, the export of coffee brought Santa Rosa a modest prosperity.
Web links
Alta Verapaz | Baja Verapaz | Chimaltenango | Chiquimula | El Progreso | Escuintla | Guatemala | Huehuetenango | Izabal | Jalapa | Jutiapa | Petén | Quetzaltenango | Quiché | Retalhuleu | Sacatepéquez | San Marcos | Santa Rosa | Sololá | Suchitepéquez | Totonicapán | Zacapa
Coordinates: 14 ° 12 ′ N , 90 ° 22 ′ W