Masaya Department

Masaya Departamento de Masaya
Department
Flag Coat of arms
Location within Nicaragua
Country	Nicaragua
Capital	Masaya
Area
• Department	611 km^2 (236 sq mi)
Population  (2021 estimate)[1]
• Department	397,632
• Density	650/km^2 (1,700/sq mi)
• Urban	238,345
ISO 3166-2	NI-MS

Masaya (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈsaʝa]) is a department in Nicaragua. It is the country's smallest department by area (611 km^2) and has a population of 397,632 (2021 estimate). The capital is the city of Masaya. It is famous among Nicaraguan people for its nickname, "La Cuna Del Folklore" which translates to (The Cradle of Folklore). It is also the site of the Masaya Volcano, an active 635m volcano which last erupted in 2016. The Indigenous inhabitants of Masaya are the Nahuas and the Chorotegas, and was the location of the pre-Columbian Nahua chiefdom of Masatepek.[2][3][4] The Nahuas dominate the cultivation and production of cocoa beans in the municipality of Masatepe.[5][6][7]

Municipalities

1. Catarina
2. La Concepción
3. Masatepe
4. Masaya
5. Nandasmo
6. Nindirí
7. Niquinohomo
8. San Juan de Oriente
9. Tisma

References

1. Citypopulation.de Population of departments in Nicaragua
2. Vida de González Dávila, Gil. Ávila, c. 1480 – 21.IV.1526. Descubridor y conquistador. et al., 2012
3. Historia general y natural de las Indias, islas y tierra-firme del mar océano; por el Capitán Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés; Primer Cronista del Nuevo Mundo; publícala la Real Academia de la Historia.- Tomo IV.- Libro XLII.- Capitulo XIII.
4. Colonización de américa, cuando la historia marcha, de Oviedo y Valdés, Gonzalo c. 1480 - 1557, 2006
5. "Preparation of a hygiene plan for the Nicaraos microenterprise cocoa industry in the department of Masaya".
6. "Nicaragua National Report" (PDF).
7. Carmack, Robert (2017). The Indigenous People of Mesoamerica and Central America. Lexington Books. pp. 81–83. ISBN 9781498558976.

11°58′N 86°06′W