Morazán () is a department of

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. Located in the northeast part of the country, its capital is San Francisco Gotera. It covers a total surface area of 1,447 km² (558.8 mi² Square Miles).

History

Gotera was made a department in 1875, with its capital at Osicala. On February 8, 1877, Gotera was made the capital. The department changed its name from Gotera to Morazán on March 14, 1877. Morazán was a major stronghold of the

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

movement during the 1979-1992 civil war. The infamous El Mozote massacre took place in this department in the village of El Mozote on December 11, 1981, when Salvadoran armed forces killed an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign. Originally dismissed by the Salvadoran and United States governments as an invention of anti-government

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

, the massacre was confirmed in the early 1990s through

exhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

of bodies buried at the site. A museum commemorating the

Salvadoran civil war The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

, the Museum of the Revolution, was established in the municipality of Perquín.

Agriculture

Among the agricultural products that stand out are the basic grains, sugar cane, henequen, grass, orchard plants, bananas, cocoa, and coffee. Livestock cultivation of cattle, horses, donkeys and sheep is also common.

Municipalities

# Morazán Norte # Morazán Sur

Districts

# Arambala # Cacaopera # Chilanga # Corinto # Delicias de Concepción # El Divisadero # El Rosario # Gualococti # Guatajiagua # Joateca #

Jocoaitique Jocoaitique is a municipality in the Morazán department of El Salvador. Sports The local football club is named C.D. Atlético Juvenil Club Deportivo Atlético Juvenil is a Salvadoran professional football club based in Jocoaitique, M ...

# Jocoro # Lolotiquillo # Meanguera # Osicala # Perquín # San Carlos # San Fernando # San Francisco Gotera # San Isidro # San Simón # Sensembra # Sociedad # Torola # Yamabal # Yoloaiquín

Geography

Rio Sapo

The Sapo River is an

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

destination whose turquoise-colored waters have their source in the heights of the north of Morazán. The Sapo River is reached by the highway that drives from Joateca to Arambala. 1 km. after the bridge there is a deviation with access to housing operated by Prodetur.

Grotto of Corinto

Located at 48 kilometers (30 Miles) from San Francisco Gotera, is the

municipality 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' ...

of Corinto and a kilometer (Mile) and a half to the northeast is located the " La Gruta del Espíritu Santo" (The Holy Spirit

Grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

). The grotto's walls of talpetate contain a series of

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

Perquín

The village of Perquín was founded by

Lenca The Lenca,are an Indigenous people from present day southwest Honduras and eastern El Salvador in Central America. They historically spoke various dialects of the Lencan languages such as Chilanga, Putun (Potón), and Kotik, but today are nat ...

tribes before European settlement. It is located at 29 kilometers to the north of San Francisco Gotera. It is the site of El Salvador's Museum of The Revolution. It is also the site of the Deadman's Plain, the Bailadero del Diablo, La Cascada del Perol, Chilanga, is located 2 kilometers (1.2 Miles) to the north of San Francisco Gotera. And is also one of the municipalities with more importance in the department. With a population of over 11,000 people it's also one of the more grown town in population. The Center of Chilanga has a public school"Dr David Turcios", a park, Catholic Church, city hall, Health Center, local court, Police precinct, Local soccer team Stadium, and many local businesses places. Chilanga's fireworks (cohetes de Don Ciro) are popular and famous in the entire region and part of the East of the country.

References

External links

Legislative Information (in Spanish)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morazan Department Departments of El Salvador States and territories established in 1875