Chontales ( es, Departamento de Chontales) () is a department in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

. It covers an area of 6,481 km² and has a population of 191,856. The capital is

Juigalpa Juigalpa () is the municipal seat of Juigalpa Municipality and the capital city of the Chontales Department of Nicaragua. It is located within the municipality of Juigalpa, approximately 140 km east of Managua on Carretera Rama, in the cent ...

. Some of land overlooks Lake Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua) on the western side. The department is livestock and fishing based, and is also a producer of apples.

Geography

The Chontales Department is situated in the central-southwest part of the country. It is bordered by the

Boaco Department Boaco () is a department in Nicaragua. It was formed in 1938 out of part of Chontales Department. It covers an area of 4,177 km2 and has a population of 186,284 (2021 estimate). The capital is the city of Boaco. Indigenous peoples are the '' ...

to the north, the Río San Juan Department to the south, the

South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region The South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It covers an area of and has a population of 420,935 (2021 estimate). The capital is Bluefields. Bordering the Caribbean Sea, it contains part of the re ...

to the east and Lake Cocibolca to the west. Chontales geographically primarily consists of the slopes around Lake Cocibolca, the Serranía Chontaleña range and rolling hills that undulate towards the Caribbean plain. The Cuisalá, a tributary of the Mayales flows in the northwestern part of the department. The shoreline of Lake Cocibolca within the department is about , between the mouths of the Tecolostote and

Oyate ''Oyate'' is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Brandon Jackson and Emil Benjamin. The film follows Indigenous activists and politicians as they shed light on the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. ''Oyate'' had its world premiere at Big ...

rivers.

Municipalities

The department is divided administratively into 10 municipalities: # Acoyapa # Comalapa # El Coral #

# La Libertad # San Francisco de Cuapa # San Pedro de Lóvago #

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

# Santo Tomás #

Villa Sandino Villa Sandino is a municipality in the Chontales Department of Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Cost ...

Economy

The regional economy of Chontales is mainly based around livestock. The estates along the shore of the lake and along the road to Rama contain many plains and wet pastures to accommodate for cattle herds. The department is also a major producer of apples, producing over 743,000 apples according to one census, representing 8% of all agricultural land in Nicaragua. Mining and fishing are also conducted in the department.

Landmarks

The department contains the Arqueológico Gregorio Aguilar Barea, which has a number of indigenous artifacts attesting to the socio-cultural development of the people of Chontales throughout history. The Museo Comunitario Juigalpan María Ramos in Juigalpa reveals much about the history and identity of the region. The Reserva Natural de Amerrique is a nature reserve within the department, in a volcanic area.

References

External links

Political map of Chontales
{{Authority control Departments of Nicaragua