Ebullient El Salvador Trivia Quiz

Answer: It does not border the Caribbean Sea

El Salvador is bordered by Honduras to the northeast and Guatemala to the northwest. The rest of the country forms the coastline with the Pacific Ocean, which places the country's lowest point at 0 feet, or sea level. The coastal region has a tropical climate, with a more temperate climate inland. The land borders are roughly 515 kilometres and the coastline is 307 kilometres.

Answer: Sierra Madre de Chiapas

The Sierra Madre de Chiapas (also known simply as the Sierra Madre) are a range of mountains which runs from Mexico down through Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. In El Salvador, the range is largely made up of around twenty volcanoes.

Answer: 15%

The Pacific lowlands form a narrow strip which runs along the coastline of El Salvador. At its narrowest point, it is only one kilometre wide. The interior highlands make of approximately 85% of El Salvador's land area. The central plateau which forms part of the interior highlands is the most densely populated area of El Salvador.

Answer: Rio Lempa

The Lempa river rises in Guatemala (where it is called Rio Olopa) and travels through Honduras before entering El Salvador. San Salvador, the capital city is situated in the Lempa river basin. This basin makes up roughly half of El Salvador's territory and approximately three quarters of the population live in cities and towns in it.

Answer: Izalco

The Izalco volcano was 'born' in 1770 and is located on the southern side of another volcano - the Santa Ana. For nearly two centuries, its regular eruptions created a beacon in the night sky, which is where the nickname El Faro or Lighthouse of the Pacific came from. Neighbouring volcanoes are largely forested, which makes Izalco very distinct with its barren slopes and is a draw for tourists who regularly climb it.

Answer: Joya de Cerén

Joya de Cerén very nearly became a grain silo. In 1976, a bulldozer impacted on a wall. Following calls to the National Museum of El Salvador, further excavation revealed a thatched roof, which was assumed to be a fairly recent construction and construction of the silo was free to go ahead.
Two years later, Payson Sheets, on hearing that some pottery had been unearthed, decided to have a look. What he found was groundbreaking - Mayan pottery from what is known as the Classical Period (AD 500 to 800).
Although Cerén has been referred to as the 'Pompeii of the Americas' or the 'New World Pompeii', the type of ash which buried the village of Cerén was actually different to that of Pompeii and allowed for greater preservation. Excavation of the village has allowed archaeologists to learn an incredible amount about the life of the peasant class of the period - of which little was known prior to this discovery.

Answer: May

The rainy season, generally referred to locally as winter, begins in May and continues through to October. The dry season, or summer, begins in November, when trade winds are carried across Honduras from the Caribbean. These trade winds lose their moisture as they travel across Honduras and are dry when they reach El Salvador.

Despite the distinction between winter and summer, the temperature does not really vary from season to season and is dictated more by elevation than anything else.

Answer: Gulf of Fonseca

In 1992 the ICJ, International Court of Justice, decreed that control of the Gulf of Fonseca would be shared by the three nations and the islands of Meanguera and Meanguerita were given into El Salvador's control. The Gulf of Fonseca is named after Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca, a Spanish bishop who was an advisor of Queen Isabella of Spain, and was instrumental in unseating Christopher Columbus as governor of the lands Columbus had discovered. Fonseca also facilitated the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan.

Answer: Colón

The Salvadoran colón was named after Christopher Columbus; his name is Spanish is Cristóbal Colón. It replaced the peso as Salvadoran currency in 1892. Each note displayed an image of Columbus on one side and featured various iconic landmarks on the reverse, such as the Izalco volcano, which appeared on the 10 colón note.

Answer: All of these

This 10% is made up principally of Pipil, Lenca and Kakawira people. The Pipil were the largest indigenous group in western El Salvador, but an uprising in this area in 1932 led to a massacre which decimated the population. In the aftermath many indigenous customs and traditions were abandoned for fear of further government reprisals.
'La matanza' or 'The Slaughter' took place after a military coup in December 1931, which was led by the then Vice President, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez. The collapse of the coffee market had led to both civil and military unrest. The coup answered the dissatisfaction of the military but not that of the peasant class.
The rebels were made up largely of Pipil and managed to gain control of a number of towns which disrupted supply lines. Under the guise of conciliatory talks, the new government invited the rebels to a public square where up to 40,000 were killed.