Sonsonate Department

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Departamento de Sonsonate

Image:Sonsonate flag.png Image:COA-Sonsonate.png Flag Coat of Arms
Image:El Salvador-Sonsonate.png Location Map
Capital	Sonsonate
Area	Ranked 9th 1,225.77 km²
Population  - 1992 census  - 2006 estimate	Ranked 5th 360,183 462,522
ISO 3166-2	SV-SO

Sonsonate is a department of El Salvador in the western part of the country. The capital is Sonsonate.

The department has a population of over 330,000 and an area of 1225.77 km².

Created on June 12, 1824. The El Salvador National Parliament deciced on January 29, 1859 to separate from the department the cities of Apaneca, San Pedro Puxtla, Guaymango and Jujutla and give these cities to Santa Ana Department.

Sonsonate City was the second capital of the Federal Republic of Central America in 1834.

The department remains the heart of the Pipil culture in the country, home to several ancient traditions and to most of the few remaining Nahuatl speakers in El Salvador.

It is an overwhelmingly agricultural area, with extremely fertile volcanic soils that once were the most valuable resource in Central America for the Spanish conquistadors who profited from its ancient cacao plantations. Its name appropriately means "Place of 400 rivers" or "Place of many waters" as it receives well over 2,000mm (79 inches) of rain a year.

Irma Dimas of Sonsonate was Miss El Salvador in 2005.

Municipalities

1. Acajutla
2. Armenia
3. Caluco
4. Cuisnahuat
5. Izalco
6. Juayúa
7. Nahuizalco
8. Nahulingo
9. Salcoatitán
10. San Antonio del Monte
11. San Julián
12. Santa Catarina Masahuat
13. Santa Isabel Ishuatán
14. Santo Domingo
15. Sonsonate
16. Sonzacate

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es:Sonsonate (El Salvador) pl:Sonsonate (departament) pt:Sonsonate (El Salvador)