Escuintla (Guatemala)
| Escuintla | ||
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Coordinates: 14 ° 18 ′ N , 90 ° 47 ′ W Escuintla on the map of Guatemala
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Guatemala | |
| Department | Escuintla | |
| Residents | 100,000 | |
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| Detailed data | ||
| surface | 332 km 2 | |
| Population density | 301 people / km 2 | |
| height | 350 m | |
| Waters | Rio guacalate | |
| Time zone | UTC −6 | |
Escuintla is a city in Guatemala . With around 100,000 inhabitants, it is the third largest city in the country after Guatemala City ( including Mixco ) and Quetzaltenango . It is the administrative seat of the Escuintla department and the municipality of the same name ( Municipio ), which covers 332 km² and has over 130,000 inhabitants.
Location and climate
The city is located about 45 km southwest of Guatemala City at the foot of the Sierra Madre at an altitude of 350 m. Escuintla can be reached from the capital on the modern CA 9 motorway in around half an hour.
Escuintla lies in the transition area between the Pacific lowland region and the central highlands. The climate is mostly hot. The rainy season lasts from May to October.
Economy and tourism
Escuintla is the capital and trading center of the wealthiest and most productive department in Guatemala and one of the country's most important transport hubs. The highways CA 2 ( Mexico - El Salvador ) and CA 9 (Atlantic-Pacific) intersect here . In the past, Escuintla was also a railway junction of lines that ran along the aforementioned highways. The railway line from Puerto San José to Guatemala City was recently only used for freight traffic. Escuintla has an airport for general aviation . Plans to expand this into the international airport of Guatemala City were abandoned for financial reasons in favor of modernizing the existing Guatemala City airport .
Escuintla has no attractions.
history
Escuintla was a center of the Pipil before the conquest by Pedro de Alvarado and was called Iscuintepéque ( Yxcuyntepeque ), which means something like "hill of the dogs".
Personalities
- Melissa Morales (* 1990), tennis player