San Salvador

San Salvador, city, El Salvador

San Salvador (sän sälväthōr`), city (1993 pop. 402,448), central El Salvador, capital and largest city of the country. It is the center of El Salvador's trade and communications. Beer, tobacco products, clothing, textiles, and soap are produced there. Built on the volcanic slope that parallels the Pacific coast (nearby is San Salvador volcano, 6,211 ft/1,893 m), the city has suffered from recurrent and severe earthquakes and has been frequently rebuilt. The most disastrous quake (1854) led to the founding of Nueva San Salvador; the last earthquake occurred in 1986, resulting in significant damage to the city. San Salvador is high enough to escape the excessive heat of the tropics but has a year-round summer climate. It has several fine parks, broad avenues, and modern houses (particularly in outlying sections). San Salvador was founded early in the 16th cent. and for a time (1831–38) was the capital of the Central American Federation. San Salvador has experienced rapid population growth that has strained its economy.

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San Salvador, island, Bahamas

San Salvador, island of the Bahamas, West Indies. Many historians believe that it was the first land sighted by Columbus in the New World in 1492. The indigenous population called it Guanahani, and it has also been named Watling or Watlings Island. It was formerly confused with what is now known as Cat Island.

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San Salvador

City (pop., 1992: city, 415,346; metro. area 1,522,126), capital of El Salvador. Founded near Suchitoto by the Spanish in 1525, it was moved to its present site in 1528 and declared a city in 1546. It became the capital of the country in 1839. During the late 1970s it became the focus of violence between the government and left-wing political groups. It is the country's financial, commercial, and industrial centre, producing textiles and clothing, leather goods, and wood products. It is also the site of the University of El Salvador. Devasted by earthquakes in 1854, 1873, 1917, and 1986 and by heavy floods in 1934, it has been reconstructed frequently.

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San Salvador

the capital of El Salvador, situated in the SW central part: became capital in 1841; ruined by earthquakes in 1854 and 1873; university (1841). Pop.: 1 472 000 (2005 est.)

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San Salvador

Bahamian island, Columbus’s first landfall in his discovery of America. [Am. Hist.: Benét, 214]

See : Discovery

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San Salvador

the capital of El Salvador and the country’s economic and cultural center. San Salvador is a railroad and highway junction, situated on the Pan American Highway; it lies in the valley of the Hamacas River, at the base of San Salvador volcano, at an altitude of about 700 m. The climate is tropical. The average temperature in December is 22°C, and in April (the hottest month), 24.6°C. The average annual precipitation is 1,788 mm. Area, 80 sq km. Population, 550,000 (1975, including suburbs).

San Salvador was founded in April 1525 by Spanish conquistadores. After El Salvador declared its independence in 1821, San Salvador became the country’s capital. Since the early 20th century, San Salvador has been a center of workers’ struggles and the scene of large demonstrations, especially in 1932, 1944, 1946, and 1960.

San Salvador’s industries account for more than one-quarter of the country’s entire industrial production. The city has a textile industry; large factories produce cotton fabrics and henequen coffee bags. It also has food and condiments and metal-working industries.

After earthquakes in 1798, 1854, 1873, and 1965, San Salvador has been rebuilt several times, always in a regular pattern, with broad, straight streets and large parks. Most residential buildings are one or two stories high and made of wood or reinforced concrete. Since the mid-20th century, high-rise hotels, banks, and office buildings have appeared; the buildings of the university are done in a strictly rational style. Slums lie on the city’s outskirts.

San Salvador’s architectural monuments include two churches from the colonial period: the churches of St. Joseph (1783) and Jesus Christ (1785). Bolívar Plaza and Bolívar Park, with its National Palace (1902–07), occupy the city center. San Salvador has the National Theater and Presidential Theater (plays, operas, and ballets and concerts of the State Symphony Orchestra) and the University Theater. It also has a conservatory.