the capital of Nicaragua; the administrative and cultural center of the country. Located on the southeastern shore of Lake Managua, on the Pan-American Highway. Population, 398,500 (1971; 163,000 in 1950). A railroad line connects it with the port of Corinto on the Pacific coast. Its airport (Las Mercedes) is of international importance. Managua’s climate is subequatorial: the average temperature is 28°C in December and 30°C in May. The average precipitation is 1,213 mm a year.
Managua and its suburbs are an independent administrative unit, a national district, with an administration consisting of an executive commission appointed by the president. The head of the administration is the minister of the national district, who is also appointed by the central government.
Managua was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century on the site of an Indian settlement. Until the early 19th century, the city was not particularly significant and was mentioned only in some of the chronicles. In 1846, Managua received the status of a city. In 1858 it became the capital of the Republic of Nicaragua (until that time, the cities of Masaya, León,, and Granada had alternately held the position). From 1912 to 1925 and from 1926 to 1933, Managua was occupied by US troops. After World War II, the city was a center for the labor and student movement.
Managua has textiles, leather and footwear, food-processing and cement industries and oil refining. The city’s educational institutions include the Nicaraguan division of the University of Central America, the National Academy of Philosophy, the Academy of Geography and History of Nicaragua, and other scientific institutions and societies. The National Archives and the National Museum of Nicaragua are located in Managua.
The city has frequently been heavily damaged as a result of natural disasters (particularly the flood in 1876 and the earth-quakes in 1931 and 1972) and has been rebuilt after each catastrophe.
a lake in Central America, in Nicaragua. Length, about 60 km; maximum width, 28 km; area, 1,489 sq km; maximum depth, 80 m. It lies in a tectonic depression at a height of 37 m. It periodically overflows southeast into Lake Nicaragua. The lake is navigable. The Momotombo volcano rises above the northern shore of the lake, and the capital of Nicaragua, the city of Managua, is on the southern shore.