The Valley of Guatemala is the territory in the country of Guatemala surrounding the historic city of Antigua Guatemala, [1] the old capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala.
This territory contained the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, 2 large towns and 73 villages. [2] In the immediate surrounding area, three of the most notable Guatemalan volcanos are present, namely: Acatenango, Agua [3] (water), and Fuego (fire). [1]
Guatemala City, locally known as Guatemala or Guate, officially Ciudad de Guatemala, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nestled in a mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita. It is estimated that its population is about 1 million. Guatemala City is also the capital of the Municipality of Guatemala and of the Guatemala Department.
Antigua Guatemala, commonly referred to as just Antigua or la Antigua, is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala known for its preserved Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches. It served as the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Sacatepéquez is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. The name comes from Sacatepéquez, a city from November 21, 1542 until July 29, 1773 when it was destroyed by the 1773 Guatemalan Earthquake. Sacatepéquez means grasshill in the Nahuatl language. The capital of Sacatepéquez is Antigua Guatemala which is home to an extensive textile marketplace. Other important cities include Ciudad Vieja and San Lucas Sacatepéquez, which also hosts a marketplace and is a culinary attraction. The Chajoma were a group of indigenous people who were Kaqchikel speaking Indians identified Mixco Viejo as their capital, and spread throughout the Sacatepequez Department until their capital was moved to Ciudad Vieja, in Antigua.
Pacaya is an active complex volcano in Guatemala, which first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago and has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish invasion of Guatemala. Pacaya rises to an elevation of 2,552 metres (8,373 ft). After being dormant for over 70 years, it began erupting vigorously in 1961 and has been erupting frequently since then. Much of its activity is Strombolian, but occasional Plinian eruptions also occur, sometimes showering the area of the nearby Departments with ash.
Lake Atitlán is a lake in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre mountain range. It is in the Sololá Department of southwestern Guatemala. It is the deepest lake in Central America.
Acatenango is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, close to the city of Antigua. The volcano has two peaks, Pico Mayor and Yepocapa which is also known as Tres Hermanas. Acatenango is joined with Volcán de Fuego and collectively the volcano complex is known as La Horqueta.
Volcán de Agua is a stratovolcano located in the departments of Sacatepéquez and Escuintla in Guatemala. At 3,760 m (12,340 ft), Agua Volcano towers more than 3,500 m (11,500 ft) above the Pacific coastal plain to the south and 2,000 m (6,600 ft) above the Guatemalan Highlands to the north. It dominates the local landscape except when hidden by cloud cover. The volcano is within 5 to 10 km of the city of Antigua Guatemala and several other large towns situated on its northern apron. These towns have a combined population of nearly 100,000. It is within about 20 km of Escuintla to the south. Coffee is grown on the volcano's lower slopes.
Volcán de Fuego or Chi Q'aq' is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments. It sits about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Antigua, one of Guatemala's most famous cities and a tourist destination. It has erupted frequently since the Spanish conquest, most recently in June and November 2018.
Ocotepeque is a municipality in the Honduran department of Ocotepeque. The town of Nueva Ocotepeque is the municipal seat and the capital of the department.
Alotenango is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez. According to the 2018 census, the town has a population of 23,358. The municipality consists of four wards and is situated on the Escuintla road. Located in a valley, Alotenango is a Ladino coffee center, since the times of general Justo Rufino Barrios liberal regime (1873-1885).
Ciudad Vieja is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez. According to the 2018 census, the town has a population of 32,802 and the municipality a population of 33,405. Ciudad Vieja was the second site of Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, the colonial capital of the country.
Santa Maria de Jesus is a town, with a population of 21,795, and a municipality in the department of Sacatepéquez about 10 km from the city of Antigua Guatemala. It is located under the slopes of Volcán de Agua. This town has a height of 2,070 meters above sea level. Its central square has a temple built in the seventeenth century with a carved entry arch. Spanish and Kaqchikel are spoken in this town.
San Lucas Tolimán is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. The town of 17,000 people sits on the southeastern shore of Lago de Atitlán. The population is 90–95% Highland Maya. There is a population of about the same size living in the surrounding villages.
The Captaincy General of Guatemala, also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala, was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central America, including the present-day nations of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, and the Mexican state of Chiapas. The governor-captain general was also president of the Royal Audiencia of Guatemala, the superior court.
Lava lakes are large volumes of molten lava, usually basaltic, contained in a volcanic vent, crater, or broad depression. The term is used to describe both lava lakes that are wholly or partly molten and those that are solidified.
The Real Audiencia of Santiago de Guatemala, simply known as the Audiencia of Guatemala or the Audiencia of Los Confines, was a superior court in area of the New World empire of Spain, known as the Kingdom of Guatemala. This area included the current territories of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Mexican state of Chiapas. The Audiencia's presiding officer, the president, was the head of the government of the area. The Audiencia was initially created by decrees of November 20, 1542 and September 13, 1543, and had its seat in Antigua Guatemala.
Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala was the name given to the capital city of the Spanish colonial Captaincy General of Guatemala in Central America.
Luis de Lión, born José Luis de León Díaz was a Guatemalan writer kidnapped on May 15, 1984 by elements of Guatemalan Army intelligence, and henceforth "disappeared". His posthumous novel, El tiempo principia en Xibalbá is considered an important work in modern Central American literature.
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