San Lucas Tolimán
Encyclopedia
San Lucas Tolimán is a municipality
in the Sololá department
of Guatemala
. The town of 17,000 people sits on the southeastern shore of Lago de Atitlán
, described by Aldous Huxley as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. The population is 90-95% Highland Maya. There is a population of about the same size living in the surrounding villages.
At 1700 metres (5,577.4 ft) altitude the town offers "eternal spring" with annual temperatures ranging from 50-80 degrees F. The dry season runs from November through June/July (called "summer" locally) and the rainy season runs the other six months ("winter"). The area is free of malaria due to its elevation. The area's elevation ranges from 1562 metres (5,124.7 ft) along the lake to 3144 metres (10,315 ft) at the summit of Volcán Tolimán
. Volcán Tolimán is just south of town.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the Sololá department
Departments of Guatemala
||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...
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...
. The town of 17,000 people sits on the southeastern shore of Lago de Atitlán
Lago de Atitlán
Lake Atitlán is a large endorheic lake in the Guatemalan Highlands. Atitlan is recognized to be the deepest lake in Central America with maximum depth about 340 meters. The lake is shaped by deep escarpments which surround it and by three volcanos on its southern flank...
, described by Aldous Huxley as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. The population is 90-95% Highland Maya. There is a population of about the same size living in the surrounding villages.
At 1700 metres (5,577.4 ft) altitude the town offers "eternal spring" with annual temperatures ranging from 50-80 degrees F. The dry season runs from November through June/July (called "summer" locally) and the rainy season runs the other six months ("winter"). The area is free of malaria due to its elevation. The area's elevation ranges from 1562 metres (5,124.7 ft) along the lake to 3144 metres (10,315 ft) at the summit of Volcán Tolimán
Volcán Tolimán
Tolimán is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the southern shores of Lago de Atitlán. The volcano has an elevation of 3,158 m and was formed near the southern margin of the Pleistocene Atitlán III caldera. The top of the volcano has a shallow crater and its flanks are covered with the thick remains...
. Volcán Tolimán is just south of town.