![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Viejo_Palmar_1.jpg/640px-Viejo_Palmar_1.jpg&w=640&q=50)
El Palmar, Quetzaltenango
Municipality and town in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
El Palmar is a municipality in the Quetzaltenango department of Guatemala which has a population of 32,065.[2]
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El Palmar, Quetzaltenango | |
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Municipality and town | |
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Country | ![]() |
Department | ![]() |
Area | |
• Municipality and town | 66 sq mi (171 km2) |
Population (2018 census)[1] | |
• Municipality and town | 29,132 |
• Density | 440/sq mi (170/km2) |
• Urban | 19,115 |
Time zone | UTC+6 (Central Time) |
Climate | Am |
El Palmar is mostly an agricultural municipality, with coffee being one of its main products.
Many years ago, El Palmar was nearly destroyed by a volcanic eruption of the Santiaguito volcano. Nuevo El Palmar was founded a few kilometers away where most people re-settled. Some inhabitants chose to stay or go back to the original town.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Viejo_Palmar_3.jpg/640px-Viejo_Palmar_3.jpg)
The original town was nearly destroyed again by another volcanic eruption in the late 1990s. The inhabitants were given the alternative to re-settle in El Nuevo Palmar by the Guatemalan government. Those who chose to stay would do so at their own risk. Those who re-settled in El Nuevo Palmar did so into the suburbs of this town. A few months later, the entire town was destroyed by another flood of mud from a volcanic eruption. The old town is still declared a risk zone and anyone who enters does so under their own risk.
In October 2005 a bridge was destroyed here by Hurricane Stan, cutting off a large portion of the southwest region from the rest of the country. It has since been restored.