San Miguel Department (El Salvador)

San Miguel
Department

Flag

Location within El Salvador
Coordinates: 13°31′19″N 88°14′02″W / 13.522°N 88.234°W / 13.522; -88.234Coordinates: 13°31′19″N 88°14′02″W / 13.522°N 88.234°W / 13.522; -88.234
Country  El Salvador
Created
(given current status)
1824
Seat San Miguel
Area
  Total 2,077.1 km2 (802.0 sq mi)
Area rank Ranked 2nd
Population
  Total 478,792
  Rank Ranked 4th
  Density 230/km2 (600/sq mi)
Time zone CST (UTC−6)
ISO 3166 code SV-SM

San Miguel is a department in the eastern part of El Salvador. The capital is San Miguel. The department is 2,077 km² in area and has a population of over 478,000.

Before the Spanish conquest of El Salvador, the territory that now consists of the departments of San Miguel, La Unión and Morazán was the Lenca kingdom of Chaparrastique (Place of Beautiful Orchids).[1]

San Miguel was first known as San Miguel de la Frontera. The city was founded by Luis de Moscoso on May 8, 1530, where it is now Santa Elena. On July 11, 1812 the city was given the title of "Noble y Leal Ciudad" (noble and loyal city). It was made a department on June 12, 1824.

It is the location of Ciudad Barrios, the birthplace of Archbishop Óscar Romero.

Municipalities

A beach in El Cuco, San Miguel
  1. Carolina
  2. Chapeltique
  3. Chinameca
  4. Chirilagua
  5. Ciudad Barrios
  6. Comacarán
  7. El Tránsito
  8. Lolotique
  9. Moncagua
  10. Nueva Guadalupe
  11. Nuevo Edén de San Juan
  12. Quelepa
  13. San Antonio
  14. San Gerardo
  15. San Jorge
  16. San Luis de la Reina
  17. San Miguel
  18. San Rafael
  19. Sesori
  20. Uluazapa

Agriculture

The products that are more cultivated are the basic grains, henequen and sugar cane, fruits, oleaginous seeds, mangrove, and grass. The upbringing of bovine, swinish, goat, and mule livestock exists and the upbringing of corral birds and of bees. Among the most important manufacturing, there is the elaboration of nutritious products, threads, yarns, drinks, cotton fabrics, clothes, leather articles, detergents, soaps, milk, and construction material.

Tourism

There are a few beaches in the San Miguel department, for instance in El Cuco.

References

  1. Boland, Roy (2001). Culture and Customs of El Salvador. London: Greenwood Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-313-30620-6.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.