For the archaeological site of the Maya civilization

Maya civilization

The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...

, see San Bartolo (Maya site)

San Bartolo (Maya site)

San Bartolo is a small pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located in the Department of Petén in northern Guatemala, northeast of Tikal and roughly fifty miles from the nearest settlement...

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San Bartolo is a municipality in the Totonicapán

Totonicapán (department)

Totonicapán is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. The capital is the city of Totonicapán.- Municipalities :# Momostenango# San Andrés Xecul# San Bartolo# San Cristóbal Totonicapán# San Francisco El Alto# Santa Lucía La Reforma...

 department of Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

. It is north of San Francisco El Alto

San Francisco El Alto

San Francisco El Alto is a municipality in the Totonicapán department of Guatemala.The municipality includes the villages or aldeas of: Chivarreto, Chirrenox, Pabatoc, Paxixil, Rancho de Teja, Pachaj, Sacmixit, San Antonio Sija, Saquicol Chiquito, and Tacajalbé...

 and west of Santa María Chiquimula

Santa María Chiquimula

Santa María Chiquimula is a municipality in the Totonicapán department of Guatemala....

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This hilly region is situated in rugged highlands. Long-leafed pine forests and red soil give the surroundings the flavor of the southern USA Appalachian region. The area sits atop porous limestone deposits. The principal town of San Bartolo Aguas Calientes -- St. Bartholomew's Hot Springs—is one KM from a small resort at a geothermal spring.

In early 2005, houses in a district downhill from the town began to crack. Residents could hear running water. Hurricane Stan made landfall in Guatemala in October, 2005. It became a tropical storm that hovered over the highlands for days. It dumped over 100 inches (2,540 mm) of rain. The land under 22 damaged houses dropped and slid, totally destroying them.
The Guatemalan government did not provide relief. The displaced families moved into tent-like huts, each constructed from USA-supplied tarpaulins covering a wood frame. In mid-2006, the United Methodist Church began to send US-based work teams into the area to build permanent houses for displaced families that could obtain land.