Ocotal

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Ocotal is the capital of the Nueva Segovia Department in Nicaragua, Central America, located within the municipality of Ocotal. Ocotal is located 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of the Honduras border on the Pan-American Highway. The city, which holds a population of 31,932 (2000), is located within a valley. The name comes from the Nahuatl word for pine resin.

Ocotal is twinned with Swindon, United Kingdom, with Hartford, Connecticut, United States, and with Wiesbaden, Germany

In 1927, Ocotal suffered one of the first dive bombing attacks in history, conducted by five Marine de Havilland biplanes fighting against Augusto César Sandino.

Ocotal is the same city that was founded by Spanish colonialists in Quilalí, in 1543, with the name Nueva Segovia.


Coordinates: 13°38′N, 86°29′W