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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 35 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 El Salvador
1821. It achieved independence from the Central American Federation in 1839.
| Western El Salvador consists of three departments. Which are these departments? | Magic El Salvador
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Ahuachapan, Sonsonate & Santa Ana. The western area of the country is home to some of the few remaining indigenous communities.
| What was the last time San Miguel Volcano erupted in the 20th century? | Magic El Salvador
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1976. The crater is more than a thousand feet deep.
Izalco Volcano. Once known as the "light-house of the Pacific", Izalco's fiery activity could once be seen by sailors far out at sea.
Cerro Verde. Located within the Cerro Verde National Park.
| Lake Ilopango stretches across three departments. Which are these departments? | Magic El Salvador
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La Paz, Cuscatlan & San Salvador. Lying at an altitude of 1,490 feet above sea level, Ilopango has a diameter of 72.5 kilometers.
Santa Ana. 55 kilometers from San Salvador.
Sonsonate. Novelist, painter, sculptor and poet, Salarrue left an indelible mark on the country's cultural development.
Acajutla. Acajutla has the most extensive and modern facilities in the region.
| What Pre-Columbian settlement was buried by volcanic ash almost 1,400 years ago? | Magic El Salvador
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Joya de Ceren. Joya de Ceren was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
San Sebastian. San Sebastian is located 22 miles from San Salvador.
1905. The interior is decorated with images dating back to the 16th century.
| What is a mountain village northeast of San Salvador well known for artisans who produce ceramics? | Magic El Salvador
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Ilobasco. Ilobasco is a Nahuatl word meaning "the place of many corn fields".
Francisco Flores. Francisco Flores took office in June 1999.
| What is the largest of El Salvador's lakes and a very popular tourist site? | Magic El Salvador
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Lake Ilopango. It is a beautiful lake surrounded by volcanoes and mountains.
| What is an ancient indigenous village located nine miles south of San Salvador? | Magic El Salvador
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Panchimalco. A colonial church dating back to 1725 is located here.
1953. It's located just over a mile from San Salvador's downtown and contains approximately 650 different species of local and foreign animals.
| What is the little home town to a controversial museum founded by former guerrilla combatants? | Magic El Salvador
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Perquin. Exhibits include photos of revolutionary figures, a mock-up of the guerrilla radio station that broadcast illicitly throughout the war, a bomb crater and reproductions of huts in which guerrillas lived in the mountain around Perquin.
Meanguera. Meanguera is located in the Gulf of Fonseca, which also contains the islands of Meanguerita, Amapala and El Tigre.
Usulutan. Usulutan has a population of about 80,000 people.
6,470,379 Inhabitants. Situated on the Pacific coast of Central America, El Salvador has Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the north and east.
| The indigenous Pipils spoke of Santa Ana as "Sihuatehuacan". What does "Sihuatehuacan" mean in Nahuatl? | Magic El Salvador
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City of Witches. Founded in 1708, the town is considered to be one of El Salvador's most important architectural and cultural treasures.
Santa Ana Volcano. It towers 7,760 feet above sea level.
San Salvador. San Salvador is the capital city of El Salvador too.
| The population of El Salvador is largely 'mestizo', that is mixed indigenous and European descent. What percentage of the population is considered to be exclusively indigenous? | Ebullient El Salvador
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1%. This 1% is made up principally of Pipil, Lenca and Kakawira people. The Pipil were the largest indigenous group in western El Salvador, but an uprising in this area in 1932 led to a massacre which decimated the population. In the aftermath many indigenous customs and traditions were abandoned for fear of further government reprisals.
'La matanza' or 'The Slaughter' took place after a military coup in December 1931, which was led by the then Vice President, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez. The collapse of the coffee market had led to both civil and military unrest. The coup answered the dissatisfaction of the military but not that of the peasant class.
The rebels were made up largely of Pipil and managed to gain control of a number of towns which disrupted supply lines. Under the guise of conciliatory talks, the new government invited the rebels to a public square where up to 40,000 were killed.
| In January 2001, the US dollar was adopted as the currency of El Salvador. Prior to this change, what was the national currency? | Ebullient El Salvador
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Colón. The Salvadoran colón was named after Christopher Columbus; his name is Spanish is Cristóbal Colón. It replaced the peso as Salvadoran currency in 1892. Each note displayed an image of Columbus on one side and featured various iconic landmarks on the reverse, such as the Izalco volcano, which appeared on the 10 colón note.
| For many years, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua engaged in a dispute for the control of which gulf? | Ebullient El Salvador
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Gulf of Fonseca. In 1992 the ICJ, International Court of Justice, decreed that control of the Gulf of Fonseca would be shared by the three nations and the islands of Meanguera and Meanguerita were given into El Salvador's control. The Gulf of Fonseca is named after Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca, a Spanish bishop who was an advisor of Queen Isabella of Spain, and was instrumental in unseating Christopher Columbus as governor of the lands Columbus had discovered. Fonseca also facilitated the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan.
| The climate in El Salvador is tropical and the year is generally divided between a dry season and a rainy season. When does the rainy season begin? | Ebullient El Salvador
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May. The rainy season, generally referred to locally as winter, begins in May and continues through to October. The dry season, or summer, begins in November, when trade winds are carried across Honduras from the Caribbean. These trade winds lose their moisture as they travel across Honduras and are dry when they reach El Salvador. Despite the distinction between winter and summer, the temperature does not really vary from season to season and is dictated more by elevation than anything else.
| In 1976, a bulldozer unexpectedly unearthed an ancient Mayan village which had been buried by the eruption of a volcano in approximately AD 595. Known as the 'Pompeii of the Americas', what is the name of this village? | Ebullient El Salvador
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Joya de Cerén. Joya de Cerén very nearly became a grain silo. In 1976, a bulldozer impacted on a wall. Following calls to the National Museum of El Salvador, further excavation revealed a thatched roof, which was assumed to be a fairly recent construction and construction of the silo was free to go ahead.
Two years later, Payson Sheets, on hearing that some pottery had been unearthed, decided to have a look. What he found was groundbreaking - Mayan pottery from what is known as the Classical Period (AD 500 to 800).
Although Cerén has been referred to as the 'Pompeii of the Americas' or the 'New World Pompeii', the type of ash which buried the village of Cerén was actually different to that of Pompeii and allowed for greater preservation. Excavation of the village has allowed archaeologists to learn an incredible amount about the life of the peasant class of the period - of which little was known prior to this discovery.
| El Salvador is known as the 'Land of Volcanoes'. Which volcano earned the nickname 'Lighthouse of the Pacific' as its eruptions and glowing lava were visible at a great distance? | Ebullient El Salvador
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Izalco. The Izalco volcano was 'born' in 1770 and is located on the southern side of another volcano - the Santa Ana. For nearly two centuries, its regular eruptions created a beacon in the night sky, which is where the nickname El Faro or Lighthouse of the Pacific came from. Neighbouring volcanoes are largely forested, which makes Izalco very distinct with its barren slopes and is a draw for tourists who regularly climb it.
| El Salvador is largely divided into two regions, the interior highlands and the Pacific lowlands. How much of the area (approximately) of El Salvador do these Pacific lowlands cover? | Ebullient El Salvador
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15%. The Pacific lowlands form a narrow strip which runs along the coastline of El Salvador. At its narrowest point, it is only one kilometre wide. The interior highlands make of approximately 85% of El Salvador's land area. The central plateau which forms part of the interior highlands is the most densely populated area of El Salvador.
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