Guatemala City

Guatemala City (Spanish: Ciudad de Guatemala), known nationally also as Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala.[4] It is also a municipality capital of the Guatemala Department and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nestled in a mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita (English: Hermitage Valley). Guatemala City is the site of the Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu, founded around 1500 BC. Following an earthquake in La Antigua in 1776 it was made capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala. In 1821, Guatemala City was the scene of the declaration of independence of Central America from Spain, after which it became the capital of the newly established United Provinces of Central America (later the Federal Republic of Central America).[5]