SalvadorAdi

=**El Salvador**=

**__Introduction__**
El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It has a [|total area] of 8,124 sq mi, smaller than the state of Massachusetts. It is located in the northern hemisphere. El Salvador's National anthem is entitled "Saludemos la Patria Orgullosos" (We Proudly Salute the Fatherland). Its lyrics can be found on [|this] website, click [|here] for the music.



**__[|Location]__**
El Salvador borders Guatemala on the west and Honduras on the north and east. On the south, El Salvador has a 191 miles long coastline on the Pacific Ocean. It is the only Central American country without a Caribbean coastline. Its capital, and largest city, is San Salvador. San Salvador’s [|absolute location] is 13°40'N 89°10'W. Santa Ana is the second largest city, situated in a mountain basin in the northwest. The country’s third largest city is San Miguel, in the east. Then there is Nueva San Salvador, a few miles west of the capital, and Ahuachapán, in the west near the border with Guatemala.



**[|Statistics]**
According to the 1992 census, the population of El Salvador is 5,118,599. In 2006 the [|population]was estimated to be about 7.1 million people. Their currency is the US dollar, since 2001. The major [|languages]are Spanish, and a few Native American languages, such as Lenca, Pipil, and Kekchí. People with important jobs in business, government, and academia know English. The major [|religions] are Roman Catholic (91%) and many Evangelical Protestant groups (8%). The life expectancy in El Salvador is 68 years for males, and 75 years for females. The [|ethnic groups] in El Salvador are Mestizo (90%), people with European descent, mostly Spanish, (1%), and Native American (9%). The [|literacy rate] in El Salvador according to data collected between 2000 and 2004, is 82.4% for males, and 77.1% for females.

**[|More Statistics]**
$4,900 (2006 est.) //agriculture:// 9.7% //industry:// 29.6% //services:// 60.7% (2006 est.) 2.856 million (2006 est.) //agriculture:// 17.1% //industry:// 17.1% //services:// 65.8% (2003 est.) 6% official rate; but the economy has much underemployment (2006 est.) 36.1% (2003 est.) coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; beef, dairy products; shrimp food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals 4.174 billion kWh (2004) 43,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
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**__The Land__**


Volcanic ranges occupy most of [|El Salvador]. Most of the population and farm land are found in the central plateaus and valleys, at elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 feet, where volcanic ash makes the soil fertile. The Pacific coastal plain also has good agricultural lands, but much of it is sandy and marshy, or rocky. Several small rivers flow through El Salvador into the Pacific Ocean. The Lempa River is the only navigable one for commercial traffic. Volcanic craters enclose beautiful lakes.

**__Physical Features__**
Rocky Pacific coastline

Lempa river, the largest river, navigable for commercial traffic, flows from Honduras across El Salvador to the ocean.

Izalco volcano, called the “lighthouse of the Pacific” because its frequent eruptions can be seen far out in the ocean

Lake Ilopango, El Salvador's largest natural Lake (65 sq mi)

**__Climate__**


El Salvador climate is tropical, with different temperatures depending on the altitude. The Pacific coastal plains are hot, average 83°F, with relatively low humidity. On mountain elevation between 2,000-4,000 feet there is a semitropical, spring like climate. Above 4,000 feet the average temperature is about 64°F, with occasional near freezing temperatures. From May to October there is heavy rain, with an average 80” rainfall. The rest of the year is very dry, and some parts of the country are in danger of becoming desert.

__5-Day Forecast for El Salvador__

 * Sunday || Monday || Tuesday || Wednesday || Thursday ||
 * [[image:http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/mostlysunny.GIF width="44" height="44"]]91° F | 78° F 33° C | 26° C || [[image:http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/mostlysunny.GIF width="44" height="44"]]91° F | 78° F 33° C | 26° C || [[image:http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/mostlysunny.GIF width="44" height="44"]]91° F | 78° F 33° C | 26° C || [[image:http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/mostlysunny.GIF width="44" height="44"]]91° F | 77° F 33° C | 25° C || [[image:http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/mostlysunny.GIF width="44" height="44"]]91° F | 78° F 33° C | 26° C ||
 * Scattered Clouds || Scattered Clouds || Scattered Clouds || Scattered Clouds || Scattered Clouds ||
 * Updated: 6:00 PM CST on February 09, 2007**

**[|Timeline]**
1525 -- The Spanish Captain Pedro de Alvarado conquered El Salvador. It took three years of war to crush the rebellions of Pipil and Lenca Indigenous peoples.

1528 -- El Salvador became a Spanish colony. Spain ruled the country for nearly 300 years, until 1821.

1821 – El Salvador, together with Mexico and the other Central American countries, declared independence from Spain. First it became part of the Mexican empire, then of the United Provinces of Central America, including Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

1841 – The Republic of El Salvador was founded.

1931 – About 30,000 people were killed in the peasant rebellion led by Farabundo Martí. Extreme poverty and injustice caused this rebellion. In El Salvador three quarters of all the land was owned by only 2% of the population. The powerful landowners were mostly of European descent.

1979 – Civil war started between the government, ruled by the right wing National Conciliation Party (PCN), and the antigovernment guerrilla units led by Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). Between 1979 and 1981 30,000 people were killed by right wing death squads backed by the military.

1992 – A peace treaty between the government and the guerrilla forces formally ended the civil war that killed about 75,000 people in 12 years.

1998 – Hurricane Mitch devastated the country, leaving behind over 2,000 dead and 30,000 homeless.

2001 – Major earthquakes struck El Salvador in the winter, and a severe summer drought destroyed 80% of the crops, causing famine in the countryside.

2004 – Antonio Saca was elected president.

2006 – El Salvador was the first country in Central America to implement a free trade agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

[|Government]
El Salvador is a republic governed under the constitution of 1991. The president is popularly elected for a five year term, and cannot be reelected. The vice president takes his/her place if the president dies or is removed during office. There is a National Assembly with 60 members elected for 3 years. The main political parties are the National Republican Alliance (ARENA), the Christian Democratic party (PCD), and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN).

[|Government Officials]
President—Elias Antonio Saca Vice President—Ana Vilma Albanez De Escobar Minister of Foreign Relations—Francisco Lainez Ambassador to the United States—Rene Antonio Rodriguez Leon Representative to the OAS—Abigail Castro De Perez Representative to the UN—Carmen Maria Gallardo de Hernandez

[|Economy]
El Salvador is a fast changing country. Its economy recovered well from the damages caused by the 12 year civil war. The adoption of the U.S. dollar as its official currency in 2001 was meant to promote economic growth and lower national interest rates. About 2/3 of the land is used for crops and pasturage. Corn is the main subsistence crop. Rice, beans, and wheat are also grown. Traditionally, coffee has been the major cash crop. In 1998 it accounted for about half of El Salvador’s export earnings, but in 2004 coffee exports decreased dramatically, accounting for only 7% of the export earnings. The main reason for this was the collapse of worldwide coffee prices. This led to a considerable reduction of coffee production in El Salvador, and decreased rural employment. Textiles, processed foods, clothing, tobacco products are El Salvador’s leading manufactured products. The major beneficiary of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the US has been the maquila industry consisting of cutting and assembling clothes for export to the United States. This industry provides 88,700 jobs directly.

[|Rainforest]
El Salvador has only 2% of the primary forest remaining in all Latin America. All that is left of the original forest in El Salvador is a 9,000 acres dry tropical forest in the Bosque El Impossible National Park, located on the costal mountain range in the department of Ahuachapán, in the southwest neat the Guatemala border. The coffee farms surrounding the park are trying to take away land from the forest.

__Travel__
A good place to learn more about El Salvador’s cultural and natural attractions, and how to get there, click [|here] and go to the government tourism office website. It is also a great site to practice your Spanish.

The cheapest direct [|flight]from Newark airport to Comalapa international airport in San Salvador costs $496.



Tazumal, a short bus ride from Santa Ana, is the main archeological site in El Salvador. The central pyramid was built by the Maya, probably over a period of 750 years. After the fall of the Mayan empire, the Pipil occupied and enlarged the site. Tazumal was abandoned around 1200 AD.



__Cultural Pictures__
Women cleaning coffee

People working on a shrimp farm

People celebrating freedom

A woman selling tortillas on the street

__Works Cited__
“El Salvador” __Bookshelf__ 1998 edition Microsoft Bookshelf 98

Marion Morrison __El Salvador__ Canada: Children’s Press 2001