Chimaltenango

Chimaltenango, city, southwestern Guatemala. It is located 30 miles (48 km) from Guatemala City, in the central highlands at an elevation of 5,860 feet (1,786 metres) above sea level. Founded in 1526 just south of an old Mayan fortress, it is a market centre and transportation hub for the surrounding Indian villages. The inhabitants raise grains, sugarcane, and livestock. The special qualities of the local clay make the city a centre for brickmaking. A colonial church, built in 1854 on the Continental Divide, has a fountain half of whose waters flow to the Atlantic Ocean and half to the Pacific Ocean. Chimaltenango is located on the Inter-American Highway. Pop. (2002) 62,917.