ABSTRACT
El Salvador, with an area of 21,200 square kilometers featuring mostly rugged topography caused by volcanic and tectonic activity, is the smallest country in the mainland Americas. It has a high population for its size: more than 5 million predominantly rural people. Its largest population density is found in its principal city and capital, San Salvador, located in the Valle de las Hamacas (Valley of the Hammocks), at the foot of the San Salvador volcano. The political and administrative organization of the country includes fourteen departments in four zones: eastern, central, subcentral, and western.
