Quiché Department
| El Quiché | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | |||
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 El Quiché |
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| Coordinates: 15°1′48″N 91°9′0″W / 15.03000°N 91.15000°WCoordinates: 15°1′48″N 91°9′0″W / 15.03000°N 91.15000°W | |||
| Country |
 Guatemala
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| Department | Quiché Department | ||
| Capital | Santa Cruz del Quiché | ||
| Municipalities | 21 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Departmental | ||
| • Governor | Miguel Ángel Medrano Bulux | ||
| Area | |||
| • Department | 8,378 km2 (3,235 sq mi) | ||
| Highest elevation | 3,200 m (10,500 ft) | ||
| Lowest elevation | 150 m (490 ft) | ||
| Population (2011 Estimate) | |||
| • Department | 955,705 | ||
| • Urban | 161,591 | ||
| • Ethnicities | K'iche', Ixil, Uspantek, Sakapultek, Poqomchi', Ladino | ||
| • Religions | Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Maya | ||
| Time zone | -6 | ||
| ISO 3166 code | GT-QC | ||
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El Quiché (Spanish pronunciation: [el kiˈtʃe]) is a department of Guatemala.
El Quiché department is in the heartland of the K'iche' (Quiché) people, to the north-west of Guatemala City. The capital is Santa Cruz del Quiché.
El Quiché has historically been one of the most populous departments of Guatemala. Its population of 955,705 (as of 2011) is predominantly of Mayan descent. (Population in 2002 census was 655,510. ) Mayan's account for 88.6% of the department's population.K'iche' people are the largest Mayan ethnic group in the department, and account for 65.1% of the total population. The department is named after them.
While most of its indigenous population speaks the K'iche' (Quiché) language, other Mayan languages spoken in the department are Ixil (Nebaj - Chajul - Cotzal area), Uspantek (Uspantán area), Sakapultek (Sacapulas area), as well as Poqomchi' and Q'eqchi' in the North-Eastern part bordering with the Alta Verapaz department.
The topographical composition of El Quiché is dominated by the central highlands and the mountain ranges of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Sierra de Chuacús, and the foothills of the volcanic mountain range on the department's South-Western border with Chimaltenango, which together make up for 79% of the department's territory. The northern part of the department is formed by tropical lowlands which cover 21% of the department's territory.
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