Sacatepéquez () is one of the 22
departments of
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
. The name comes from
Sacatepéquez
Sacatepéquez () was a city in Guatemala from November 21, 1542 until July 29, 1773 when it was destroyed by the Santa Marta earthquake. Sacatepéquez means ''grasshill'' and gave its name to the Sacatepéquez Department.
Sacatepéquez and Antig ...
, a city from November 21, 1542, until July 29, 1773, when it was destroyed by the 1773 Guatemalan Earthquake (Santa Marta Earthquake). Sacatepéquez means ''grasshill'' in the
Nahuatl language
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in ...
. The capital of Sacatepéquez is
Antigua Guatemala which is home to an extensive textile marketplace. Other important cities include
Ciudad Vieja and
, 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
Mixco Viejo () ("Old Mixco"), occasionally spelt Mixcu Viejo, is an archaeological site in the north east of the Chimaltenango department of Guatemala, some to the north of Guatemala City and from the junction of the rivers Pixcaya and Mo ...
as their capital, and spread throughout the Sacatepequez Department until their capital was moved to
Ciudad Vieja, in Antigua.
Name
Sacatepéquez has also been spelled ''Zacatepeques''.
Population
Sacatepéquez Department has a population of 330,469 (2018 census).
In 1850, the area had a population of an estimated 56,000. The southern area, which is closer to Guatemala City, has the largest population.
Municipalities
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Alotenango
Alotenango (''Alo-tenamitl-co''; translation "in the wall of the parrots") (variation: Atchalan) 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 mu ...
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Antigua Guatemala
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Ciudad Vieja
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Jocotenango
Jocotenango (alternate: Xocotenango; translation from Kaqchikel: "place of many plums") is a town and small municipality in the northeast section of Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez, and is situated north of Antigua Guatemala. It has seven ...
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Magdalena Milpas Altas
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Pastores
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San Antonio Aguas Calientes
San Antonio Aguas Calientes () is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez.
The municipal seat is the town of San Andrés Ceballos which is known for its weavers. Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of so ...
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San Bartolomé Milpas Altas
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San Miguel Dueñas
San Miguel Dueñas is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez
Sacatepéquez () was a city in Guatemala from November 21, 1542 until July 29, 1773 when it was destroyed by the Santa Marta earthquake. Sacatepéque ...
#
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Santa Catarina Barahona Santa Catarina Barahona () is a municipality in the Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to ...
#
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas () is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez. The town has a population of 12,234 (2018 census).Santa María de Jesús
Santa Maria de Jesus () is a town, with a population of 21,795 (2018 census),Citypopulation.de
Population of c ...
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Sumpango
Geography
The area is
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
ous, with what the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
described, in 1850, as a "mild climate."
[ Guatemala hosts a chain of active and dormant volcanoes, with those in Sacatepequez including Acatenago, Volcan De Agua (Volcano of Water), and Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Fire). ]Jocote
''Spondias purpura'' is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from Mexico to Brazil. It is also very common in most of the Caribbean islands. It is commonly known as ...
s, a fruit of the cashew family, grow in the region.
Economy
The more populated areas produce fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
and various crops, including maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
. Livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
is also raised, with trade going towards Guatemala City. The southern area of the department produces coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
, sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
, tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
, and cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
. As of 1850, products were being shipped out of Iztapa
Iztapa (), or Puerto de Iztapa, is a municipality in the Escuintla department of Guatemala. It is located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by Michatoya and Maria Linda Rivers, and also by the Canal de Chiquimulilla. Its popula ...
.[ Although Guatemala is able to produce cash crops such as bananas and textiles, 72% of people living in rural areas live in poverty with 31% of them reaching extreme poverty.]
See also
* Chajoma
References
External links
*
Departments of Guatemala
{{Guatemala-geo-stub