Quiché () is a
department of
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
. It is in the heartland of the
Kʼicheʼ (Quiché) people, one of the
Maya peoples, to the north-west of
Guatemala City
Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
. The capital is
Santa Cruz del Quiché. The word Kʼicheʼ comes from the language of the same name, which means "many trees".
Population
Quiché has historically been one of the most populous departments of Guatemala. At the 2018 census it had a population of 949,261.
account for 88.6% of the department's population.
are the largest Mayan ethnic group in the department, and account for 65.1% of the total population.
The department is named after them.
While most of its indigenous population speaks the
Kʼicheʼ (Quiché) language, other
Mayan languages spoken in the department are
Ixil (
Nebaj -
Chajul -
Cotzal area),
Uspantek (
Uspantán area),
Sakapultek (
Sacapulas area), as well as
Poqomchiʼ and
Q'eqchi' in the northeast, bordering the
Alta Verapaz department.
Geography
The topographical composition of Quiché is dominated by the
central highlands and the mountain ranges of the
Sierra de los Cuchumatanes,
Sierra de Chuacús, and the foothills of the volcanic mountain range on the department's South-Western border with
Chimaltenango, which together make up for 79% of the department's territory. The northern part of the department is formed by tropical lowlands which cover 21% of the department's territory.
The principal
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
s in El Quiché are the Salinas, Motagua, Xaclbal and
Ixcán river basins. The Salinas river basin (3668 km2), includes the
Chixoy River which is a
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
Río Salinas and Río
Usumacinta. The Motagua basin (1042 km2) includes the Río Grande which is an important
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
Río Motagua. The smaller
Xaclbal (779 km2) and
Ixcán basins (187 km2) are situated in the North-East of El Quiché. El Quiché has a small number of shallow lakes ("lagunas"):
laguna de Lemoa and the
laguna de La Estancia, both in
Santa Cruz del Quiché, and the
laguna de San Antonio in
San Antonio Ilotenango.
Tourism
Places of interest in the department include the town of
Chichicastenango and the ruins of
Q'umarkaj. The department has several pre-colonial archeological sites, including
Q'umarkaj (near
Santa Cruz del Quiché),
Pascual Abaj (in
Chichicastenango), Cerro de San Andrés (in
San Andrés Sajcabajá),
Chutixtiox (near
Sacapulas), Los Cerritos and La Laguna (in
Canillá). Most of these sites are used as ceremonial centers in the
Maya religion.
A
regional museum can be found in Chichicastenango and
Nebaj.
Though not as well known as the Santo Tomás church in Chichicastenango most other towns in the department have catholic churches dating from the colonial era.
The
Visis Cabá biosphere reserve (450 km
2) is the only protected natural reserve in El Quiché. It is located in the North of Chajul, on the communal lands of the
Ixil communities. The creation of protected natural reserves is being considered for
El Amay in
Chicamán and
La Vega del Zope in
Chinique.
Crime
Crime in the Quiché department is low, the homicide rate of 3 per 100,000 people is more akin to Western Europe than to the Guatemalan region in general.
Municipalities
The department is divided into 21
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
:
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Canillá
#
Chajul
#
Chicamán
#
Chiché
#
Chichicastenango
#
Chinique
#
Cunén
#
Joyabaj
#
Nebaj
#
Sacapulas
#
Patzité
#
Pachalúm
#
Ixcán
#
San Andrés Sajcabajá
#
San Antonio Ilotenango
#
San Bartolomé Jocotenango
#
San Juan Cotzal
#
San Pedro Jocopilas
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Santa Cruz del Quiché
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Uspantán
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Zacualpa
References
External links
Interactive department map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quiche Department
Departments of Guatemala