San Salvador

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San Salvador
"El Valle de las Hamacas"

Boulevard de Los Próceres

Flag

Seal

Nickname: San Sivar

San Salvador

Coordinates: 13°41′24.00″N 89°11′24.01″W / 13.69, -89.1900028

Established

1525

Government

- Mayor

Violeta Menjívar

Area

- City

72.5 km² (28 sq mi)

- Metro

569.8 km² (220 sq mi)

Population (2007)

- City

316,090

- Metro

1,566,629

Website: http://www.amss.gob.sv/

San Salvador is the capital and largest city of the nation of El Salvador. The second most populous city in Central America, after Guatemala City, it covers an area of 568 km² (220 sq. mi.) and is home to nearly 1.6 million people.^[1] Home to one-half of El Salvador's wealth, the city's per capita GDP - PPP is approximately USD11,200, compared to a national average of USD5,260 (2002).^[2]

1 History
2 Geography
3 Climate
4 Demographics
5 Transportation
- 5.1 Air
- 5.2 Roads
6 Social issues
- 6.1 Crime
- 6.2 Pollution
7 Disasters
8 Landmarks
9 Gallery of San Salvador
10 Sister Cities
11 References
12 External links

[edit] History

The origins of the city can be traced to before the Spanish Conquest. It is near the present location of San Salvador that the Pipil groups, established their capital, Cuscatlán. Not very much is known about this city, since it was abandoned by its inhabitants in an effort to avoid Spanish rule.

Although the city was founded on April 1, 1525, in the sixteenth century, it was rebuilt and changed locations twice afterwards 1528 and 1545. Originally founded in what is now the archaeological site Ciudad Vieja, north of the present-day city, it was moved to the Valle de Las Hamacas or the Acelhuate Valley, named so due to the intense seismic activity that characterizes it, which boasted more space and more fertile land, thanks to the pristine and now extremely polluted Acelhuate River. As the population of the country remained relatively small up until the early twentieth century, the city grew slowly.

[edit] Geography

The city's altitude averages 560 meters above sea level located, on a valley on the skirts of the Quezaltepec volcano or San Salvador. In fact, the valley got its nickname from the Spaniards who called the area"El Valle de las Hamacas" (The Valley of the Hammocks) due to its constant seismic activity.^[3]

[edit] Climate

San Salvador is mainly hot, the coldest months being November, December, January, and February. The temperature is very different at midday than midnight, the factors being the humidity levels, which vary as the day passes. The highest reading ever recorded in San Salvador is 38.5 degrees Celsius, the lowest being 8.2 degrees Celsius. The highest dew point is 27 and the lowest -10, both on the Celsius scale. San Salvador has two seasons: rainy and dry. October, November, December, January, February and March being the dry seasons, and April, May, June, July, August and September the rainy.

San Salvador from space, January 1997

[edit] Demographics

Years	Population
1900	138.200
1910	178.200
1920	205.000
1930	191.100
1940	222.500

Years	Population
1950	296.000
1960	475.300
1970	731.000
1980	979.700
1990	1.500.000

Approximately 89% of the population is mestizo (mix of Indigenous and European ancestry), 9% is European, and the rest is Indigenous and other small ethnic groups, including Chinese, Jewish and Arabs.

[edit] Transportation

Road to San Salvador, Leaving from Apopa. Vertical road leads to Quezaltepeque. Volcano of San Salvador is seen in the distance.

[edit] Air

San Salvador was first served by Ilopango International Airport, but in January 31, 1980, Ilopango was substituted by the bigger Comalapa International Airport which took all the International flights.

[edit] Roads

The city offers the widest boulevards in Central America and is served by a railroad that connects to other cities such as Soyapango and Apopa.

[edit] Social issues

[edit] Crime

In the past years El Salvador has experienced high crime rates including gang-related crimes, and gangs in general. Some say that this was a result of the deportation of thousands of Salvadorans from the U.S, the majority of whom were members of MS13 (Mara Salvatrucha), in the mid-90s. The gangs in which Salvadorans had been involved in the United States began to show up in El Salvador. In 1996, San Salvador was considered the second most dangerous city in the western hemisphere, according to statistics.[3]

Today San Salvador and El Salvador in general experiences some of the highest murder rates in the world, it is also considered an epicenter of the gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras.^[4] In response to this, the government has set up countless programs to try to guide the youth away from gang membership, but so far its efforts have not produced any quick results. One of the government programs was a gang-reform called "Super Mano Dura" (Super Firm Hand). Super Mano Dura had little success and was highly criticized by the U.N., it saw temporary success in 2004 but then saw a rise in crime after 2005. In 2004, the estimated murder rate per 100,000 citizens was 41.2, with 60% of the 2,576 murders committed were gang-related.^[4] The Salvadoran government reported that the Super Mano Dura gang legislation led to a 14% drop in murders in 2004. However, El Salvador recorded a total of 552 murders in January and February 2005 alone. In addition, crime rose 7.5% in just a year, from 2005-2006.^[5] Homicides are among the highest with respect to the overall crime rate. The homicides reported in 2006 reached up to 3,906, in 2005 3,779 were reported; 57.2 violent deaths per every 100,000 people.[4] In 2007 the rate rose to 58 per every 100,000.

In the first half of 2007 La Policía Nacional Civil of El Salvador statistics showed lower numbers in homicide, and extortions as well as robbery and theft of vehicles. In 2007 homicides in El Salvador had reduced 22%, extortions reduced 7%, and robbery and theft of vehicles had gone down 18%, all in comparison with the same period in 2006.^[6] Despite the lower numbers of homicides in the first half of 2007, El Salvador continues to have the highest homicide rate in Central America and one of the highest in Latin America with 58 homicides per 100,000 people.^[7]

[edit] Pollution

Pollution remains one of the city's biggest problems. Located in a valley, San Salvador is a perfect pollution trap. Fueling this, the city struggles with an increasing traffic problem. New highways and arterial roads offer some relief. According to a study by the United Nations, El Salvador was the second worst polluter of carbon dioxide emissions in Central America.

[edit] Disasters

A landslide caused by one of the 2001 El Salvador earthquakes.

The city has suffered from severe earthquakes over the years, the most disastrous of which occurred in 1854. Also worthy of mentioning is the 1917 eruption of the San Salvador volcano, which resulted in three major earthquakes and damaged the city so extensively that the government was forced to move the capital to the present-day city of Santa Tecla, then named Nueva San Salvador. The most recent earthquake, in 2001, resulted in considerable damage, especially in Las Colinas suburb where a landslide destroyed homes and killed many people. During the 1980s, conflicts in El Salvador erupted into a civil war, and many people fled to the city since most of the fighting occurred outside of it (San Salvador itself was not directly affected by the war until the final offensive of 1989).

[edit] Landmarks

Catedral Metropolitana, Metropolitan Cathedral
Teatro Nacional de El Salvador, the National Theatre of El Salvador
Palacio Nacional, the National Palace
Monumento al Salvador del Mundo, Monument to the Savior of the World
Casa Presidencial, the Presidential Mansion
Monumento a La Libertad, Monument to Liberty
Torre Cuscatlan, a city landmark owned by Banco Cuscatlán.

[edit] Gallery of San Salvador

Great San Salvador, seen from Quetzaltepec volcano	Northwest San Salvador	San Salvador downtown	The new Metropolitan Cathedral
Monumento al Salvador del Mundo (Monument to the Savior of the World)	Monument to Revolution	National Theatre in San Salvador downtown	Five star Hilton Hotel in zona rosa