Iztapa (), or Puerto de Iztapa, is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Escuintla department Escuintla () is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. The capital of the department is the city of Escuintla. Escuintla covers an area of 4,384 km² and is situated in the coastal lowland region, directly south of Guatemala City, and bord ...

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 ...

. It is located on the shores of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and surrounded by Michatoya and Maria Linda Rivers, and also by the Canal de Chiquimulilla. Its population is about 15,000 people.

Etymology

As of 1850, 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, ...

were referring to the Iztapa as Yetapa.

Archaeology

Fishtail Fishtail may refer to: Biology *The rearmost fish fin or caudal fin * Fishtail palm (genus ''Caryota'') Transportation *Fishtailing, a problem in car handling * Fishtail Air, a helicopter airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal Places *Fishtail ...

points, the most common style of tool manufacturing in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

, were discovered in Iztapa (c. 7700–7300 BCE). They are considered to be the remains of an archaic Iztapan culture.

1897 port construction

In 1897, president

José María Reina Barrios José María Reyna Barrios (24 December 1854 – 8 February 1898) was President of Guatemala from 15 March 1892 until his death on 8 February 1898. He was born in San Marcos, Guatemala and was nicknamed ''Reynita'', the diminutive form, bec ...

attempted to build an interoceanic railroad to offer it to international investors during the Central America Expo of that year. His ambitious plan included a terminal at Iztapa Port, which was being built to improve conditions at

Puerto San José Puerto San José is a town on Guatemala's Pacific Ocean coast, in the department of Escuintla. It has a population of 23,887 (2018 census),

. However, the international price collapse of both coffee and silver brought all work to standstill and the railroad could not be completed; instead of the economic boom that the president had hoped for, the Expo signifiedthe end of his regime. He was eventually murdered on 8 February 1898 after he tried to extend his presidential term until 1902.

Pictures from ''

La Ilustración Guatemalteca ''La Ilustración Guatemalteca'' (''Guatemalan Illustration'') was a biweekly cultural magazine that was published in Guatemala from 1 July 1896 to 15 June 1898. At a time when only 5% of the Guatemalan population could read, this magazine had e ...

'' Image:Iztapaobero1897.jpg, Beginning of the Obero railroad. Image:Iztapagaleras1897.jpg, Steamworks in Iztapa. Image:Iztapadragado1897.jpg, Michatoya river work Image:Riomichatoya1897.jpg, Michatoya river.

Geographic location

Climate

Iztapa has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Aw'').

Sports

Deportivo Iztapa Club Deportivo Iztapa, is a Guatemalan football club based in Iztapa, Escuintla Department. It plays their home games in the Estadio Municipal El Morón. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football. Honours Domestic ...

football club play in the National League of Guatemalan football. Their home venue is the Estadio Municipal Morón. Iztapa is considered to be one of the best places in the world to catch

Sailfish The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae ( marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the ...

References

{{Authority control Municipalities of the Escuintla Department