Chontales Department
Chontales | |
---|---|
Department | |
Juigalpa | |
Area | |
• Department | 6,481 km2 (2,502 sq mi) |
Population (2021 estimate)[1] | |
• Department | 191,856 |
• Density | 30/km2 (77/sq mi) |
• Urban | 118,625 |
ISO 3166-2 | NI-CO |
Chontales (
Geography
The Chontales Department is situated in the central-southwest part of the country. It is bordered by the
Municipalities
The department is divided administratively into 10 municipalities:[2]
- Acoyapa
- Comalapa
- El Coral
- Juigalpa
- La Libertad
- San Francisco de Cuapa
- San Pedro de Lóvago
- Santo Domingo
- Santo Tomás
- Villa Sandino
Economy
The regional economy of Chontales is mainly based around livestock. The estates along the shore of the lake and along the road to Rama contain many plains and wet pastures to accommodate for cattle herds. The department is also a major producer of apples, producing over 743,000 apples according to one census, representing 8% of all agricultural land in Nicaragua.[2] Mining and fishing are also conducted in the department.[3]
Landmarks
The department contains the Arqueológico Gregorio Aguilar Barea, which has a number of indigenous artifacts attesting to the socio-cultural development of the people of Chontales throughout history. The Museo Comunitario Juigalpan María Ramos in Juigalpa reveals much about the history and identity of the region. The Reserva Natural de Amerrique is a nature reserve within the department, in a volcanic area.[3]
References
- ^ Citypopulation.de Population of departments in Nicaragua
- ^ a b c "Caracteristicas del Departamento de Chontales". inide.gob.ni (in Spanish). CENAGRO. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Chontales". Visitnicaragua.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 April 2020.
External links
- (in Spanish) Political map of Chontales Archived 2012-07-17 at the Wayback Machine