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Huehuetenango (department)

Huehuetenango
Department
Flag of Huehuetenango
Flag
Coat of arms of Huehuetenango
Coat of arms
Huehuetenango
Huehuetenango
Coordinates: 15°18′51″N 91°28′33″W / 15.31417°N 91.47583°W / 15.31417; -91.47583Coordinates: 15°18′51″N 91°28′33″W / 15.31417°N 91.47583°W / 15.31417; -91.47583
Country Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala
Department Flag of Huehuetenango.gif Huehuetenango
Capital Huehuetenango
Municipalities 31
Government
 • Type Departmental
Area
 • Department 7,403 km2 (2,858 sq mi)
Highest elevation 3,352 m (10,997 ft)
Lowest elevation 300 m (1,000 ft)
Population (Census 2002)
 • Department 846,544
 • Urban 192,099
 • Ethnicities Mam, Q'anjob'al, Chuj, Jakaltek, Tektik, Awakatek, Chalchitek, Akatek, K'iche, Ladino
 • Religions Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Maya
Time zone -6
ISO 3166 code GT-HU

Huehuetenango is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. It is situated in the western highlands and shares borders with Mexico in the north and west; with El Quiché in the east, with Totonicapán, Quetzaltenango, and San Marcos to the south. The capital is the city of Huehuetenango.

Huehuetenango's ethnic composition is one of the most diverse in Guatemala. While the Mam are predominant in the department, other Maya groups are the Q'anjob'al, Chuj, Jakaltek, Tektik, Awakatek, Chalchitek, Akatek and K'iche'. Each of these nine Maya ethnic groups speaks their own language.

The department of Huehuetenango takes its name from the city of the same name, which serves as the departmental capital. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language of central Mexico, given by the indigenous allies of the Spanish conquistadors during the Spanish Conquest of Guatemala. It is usually said to mean "place of the elders" but may be a corruption of "place of the ahuehuete trees".


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Wikipedia

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