Volcán de Agua
| Volcán de Agua | |
|---|---|
Volcán de Agua, seen from Antigua, Guatemala, with temporary street carpeting for Easter celebrations in foreground.
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,760 m (12,340 ft) |
| Coordinates | 14°27′54″N 90°44′35″W / 14.46500°N 90.74306°WCoordinates: 14°27′54″N 90°44′35″W / 14.46500°N 90.74306°W |
| Naming | |
| Translation | Volcano of Water (Spanish) |
| Geography | |
 Volcán de Agua
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| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Volcanic arc/belt | Central America Volcanic Arc |
| Last eruption | Unknown |
Volcán de Agua (also known as Hunahpú by Mayans) is a stratovolcano located in the department of Sacatepéquez in Guatemala. At 3,760 m (12,340 ft), Agua Volcano towers more than 3,500 m (11,500 ft) above the Pacific coastal plain to the south and 2,000 m (6,600 ft) above the Guatemalan Highlands to the north. It dominates the local landscape except when hidden by cloud cover. The volcano is within 5 to 10 km (3.1 to 6.2 mi) of the city of Antigua Guatemala and several other large towns situated on its northern apron. These towns have a combined population of nearly 100,000. It is within about 20 km of Escuintla (population, ca .100,000) to the south.Coffee is grown on the volcano's lower slopes.
The local Kaqchikel people have always called the volcano Hunapú "place of flowers" or Jun Ajpu' "one hunter (The calendar date for the sacred site; a typical method for naming sacred sites in Mayan cosmovision)" in current Kaqchikel orthography. The Spanish conquistadors also called it Hunapú until a lahar from the volcano in 1541 destroyed the original capital of Guatemala (now known as Ciudad Vieja) and the city was moved to the current site of Antigua Guatemala following this disaster. Among the casualties was the governor Beatriz de la Cueva. As the lahar produced a destructive flood of water, this prompted the modern name "Volcán de Agua" meaning "Volcano of Water", in contrast to the nearby "Volcán de Fuego" or "Volcano of Fire". The Kaqchikels call Volcan de Fuego Chi Gag, which translates to "where the fire is" or Chi Q'aq' in current Kaqchikel orthography.
The volcano has not had any historical eruptions, but it has the potential to produce debris flows and lahars that could inundate nearby populated areas. This is proven by the fact that on 11 September 1541, newly founded villa of Santiago de los Caballeros was ruined by a "formidable landslide that came down Volcán de Agua; the mudslide brought along heavy rocks that destroyed part of the buildings and damaged the rest". The city was destroyed and the survivors had no direction, since governor Beatriz de la Cueva died during the disaster, which took place shortly after her husband, Adelantado Pedro de Alvarado, died and she was appointed governor by the Ayuntamiento (English:City Hall). Beatriz de la Cueva had been beside herself with grief and on 9 September 1541, when she had signed the Cabildo documents, she did so as "la sin ventura" (English: the hapless one), a phrase that turned out to be prophetic.
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