Managua

Sister cities

• Santo Domingo
• Los Angeles
• L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
• Rio de Janeiro
• Quito
• Madrid
• Taipei
• Caracas
• Buenos Aires
• Montreal
• Xalapa
• Trujillo

History

Managua (and the entire area of Nicaragua) was inhabited by Paleo-Indians as far back as 12,000 BC. The ancient footprints of Acahualinca are 2,100-year-old fossils discovered along the shores of Lake Managua. Other archeological evidence, mainly in the form of ceramics and statues made of volcanic stone, like the ones found on the island of Zapatera, and petroglyphs found on Ometepe island, contribute to the increasing knowledge of Nicaragua's ancient history. Founded as a pre-Columbian fishing town, the city was incorporated in 1819 and given the name Leal Villa de Santiago de Managua. Efforts to make Managua the capital of Nicaragua began in 1824, after the Central American nations formally attained their independence from Spain. Nicaragua became an independent nation in 1838. Managua's location between the rival cities of León and Granada made it a logical compromise site. Hence, Managua was officially selected as the nation's capital in 1852. Between 1852 and 1930, Managua underwent extensive urbanization, becoming a base of governance, infrastructure and services. destroyed much of the city, killing between 1,000 and 2,450 people. A large fire in 1936 also destroyed much of the city. Under the rule of Anastasio Somoza García and his family (1936–1979), the city was rebuilt and began to grow rapidly. New government buildings were erected, industry developed, and universities were established. The city's development caught the attention of Irving Fields and Albert Gamse, who composed a musical piece about the city that became popular in the 1940s through the performances of Freddy Martin, Guy Lombardo and Kay Kyser. Managua's progress came to a sudden halt after it suffered a second major earthquake on December 23, 1972, which destroyed 90% of the city's…

Geography

Managua is located on the southern shores of Lake Managua, also known as Lake Xolotlán. Lake Managua contains the same fish species as larger Lake Cocibolca in southeastern Nicaragua, except for the freshwater sharks found exclusively in the latter. Once a Managuan scenic highlight, the lake has been polluted from the dumping of chemical and waste water since 1927. A new sewer system and the redirecting of waste water to a new waste water treatment plant at Las Mercedes funded by the German government to decontaminate the lake was expected to be the largest in Central America and was inaugurated in 2009. These works of progress have relieved old concerns over water pollution and the endangering of native wildlife have brought some residents closer to the old city center and the rest of the mainland. Managua's city area extends about , essentially south from the south shore of Lake Managua. The lakeshore is at an altitude of above sea level, and the city climbs as it gets towards the Sierras de Managua further south where it is over above sea level. Geologically, the city lies on fault lines, thus seismologists predict that Managua will experience a severe earthquake every 50 years or less. Managua, like much of Western Nicaragua, except for the Sierras, has a tropical climate with constant temperatures averaging between . Under Köppen's climate classification, the city has a tropical wet and dry climate (Aw). The city spends most of the year seeing strong heat and a bright shining sun. The temperature varies from at night to during the daytime. Temperatures are highest in March, April and May when the sun lies directly overhead and the summer rainfall has yet to begin. As stated before Managua only has two seasons, the dry and the rainy. The rainy season…