El Quiche [2] ( Spanish: El Quiché ) is one of the 22 departments of the Republic of Guatemala . Located in the heart of the Quiche territories, in the northwest of the city of Guatemala . The administrative center is the city of Santa Cruz del Quiche .
| the department | |||||
| El quiche | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish El quiché | |||||
| |||||
| A country | Guatemala | ||||
| Includes | 21 municipality | ||||
| Adm. Centre | Santa Cruz del Quiche | ||||
| History and Geography | |||||
| Square | 8378 km² (4th place ) | ||||
| Timezone | UTC − 6 | ||||
| Population | |||||
| Population | 655 510 [1] people ( 2002 ) ( 5th place ) | ||||
| Density | 78.24 people / km² (17th place) | ||||
| Digital identifiers | |||||
| ISO 3166-2 Code | GT-QC | ||||
| FIPS Index | GT14 | ||||
| Official site | |||||
 | |||||
History
On February 2, 1838, Wueuetenango, Ketsaltenango, El Quiche, Retaluleu, San Marcos and Totonicapan merged into the short-lived Central American state of Los Altos . The state was destroyed in 1840 by General Rafael Carrera , who became president of Guatemala.
Population
El Quiche has historically been one of Guatemala's most populous departments. Its population is 655,110 people (2002) mainly consists of Mayan peoples. Although most of the indigenous people speak Quiche , other Mayan languages are also common, such as Ishilsky , Uspanteksky, Zapulateksky and some others.
Municipalities
Administratively, the department is divided into 21 municipalities:
- Canil
- Chahul
- Chicaman
- Chiche
- Chichicastenango
- Cinique
- Kunen
- Hoyabah
- Heaven
- Zacapulas
- Patient
- Pachalum
- Playa Grande Iscan
- San andres sahkabah
- San antonio ilotenango
- San Bartolome Hocotenago
- San juan cozal
- San Pedro Hokopilas
- Santa Cruz del Quiche
- Uspantlan
- Sacualpa
Attractions
The attractions of the department include the city of Chichicastenango and the ruins of Gumarka . The department also has several pre-colonial archaeological sites, including Cerro de San Andres (in San Andres Sahkabaha), Los Cerritos and La Laguna (in Canilla). Most of these objects were used as ceremonial centers in the Mayan religious beliefs. Local history museums can be found in Chichicastenango and Nebach. Colonial-era Catholic churches exist in many cities, such as the Santo Thomas Church in Chichicastenango.
Wisis Kaba Biosphere Reserve (450 km²) is the only protected El Quiche nature reserve. It is located in the north of Chahul, on the lands of the ishili communities.
Notes
- ↑ Statistics on statoids.com .
- ↑ El Quiche // Dictionary of geographical names of foreign countries / resp. ed. A.M. Komkov . - 3rd ed., Revised. and add. - M .: Nedra , 1986.- S. 446.