Santa María Cahabón

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Santa María Cahabón
Coordinates: 15 ° 36 ′  N , 89 ° 49 ′  W
Map: Guatemala
marker
Santa María Cahabón​
Santa María Cahabón on the map of Guatemala
Basic data
Country Guatemala
Department Alta Verapaz
City foundation 1543
Residents 42,949  (2002)
Detailed data
surface 900 km 2
Population density 48 inhabitants / km 2
height 250  m
Waters Río Cahabón
Post Code 16012
Time zone UTC −6
City patron Virgen de la Natividad (Festival: September 1st to 8th)
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Santa María Cahabón (often just called Cahabón ) is a small town in Guatemala and the administrative seat of the large municipality of the same name in the Alta Verapaz department . Around 50,000 people live in the 900 km² municipality and around 13,000 in Cahabón.

geography

Cahabón is located in the east of Alta Verapaz on the Río Cahabón at an altitude of about 250 m. The majority of the municipality is located in the foothills of the surrounding low mountain range. Due to the comparatively lower altitude and the proximity to the lowlands of Lake Izabal , the climate is tropical.

Santa María Cahabón borders in the north on the municipalities of Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas and Chahal , in the east on Panzós and El Estor ( Izabal ), in the south on the municipality Senahú and in the west on San Pedro Carchá and Lanquín .

population

The majority of the population belongs to the Maya group Kekchí .

history

The peaceful advancing into the Verapaz region Dominicans - monks Luis de Cáncer, Pedro Santa María de Angulo and Juan Rodrigo de Landrade founded Santa María Cahabón in 1543 on the site of Kekchi settlement called Chicaj'bom . 1980 Cahabón lost its northern municipality, from which the new municipality Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas was formed. Cahabón was badly affected by the civil war in Guatemala until the 1990s . In 1998, Hurricane Mitch wreaked havoc.

Economy and Transport

Santa María Cahabón is very remote in the east of Alta Verapaz. It can be reached from Cobán on national road 5, which is not very well developed in this section, and then from Lanquín on a branch route. It is just under 100 km to Cobán and almost 400 km to Guatemala City . Cahabón is world-famous among rafting experts for its rapids . One of the most important economic sectors of the municipality is therefore tourism. On the Río Cahabón, trips are offered from various locations in Alta Verapaz to Lake Izabal. Agriculture, forestry and timber industries also play an important role .

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