Markus, HB9KNA will be active again from El Salvador until May 2018 as YS1/HB9KNA.
QTH - La Libertad.
Recent DX Spots YS1/HB9KNA
QTH Locator - EK53hl.
He is working on 160 - 10m.
He is saying now that he is not QSL anymore.
El Salvador – Best Place to Spend Vacations
Introduction:
Republic of El Salvador is the full name of the country which is situated in Central America. It is small but densely populated country. San Salvador is the capital city of the country and the largest city too.
Geography:
The country is rightly called Tom Thumb of America as it is the smallest country in continental America. Cero El Pital is the highest point in the country on the border of Honduras.
There are more than 300 rivers in El Salvador of which most important is Rio Lempa. There are also several lakes here in the country and most of them enclosed by volcanic craters like Lake Ilopango and Lake Coatepeque. It is known as the only country of Central America with no Caribbean coastline.
Natural disasters:
Volcanic activities and earthquakes:
As El Salvador is situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire, there is a lot of tectonic activity happening here. The two earthquakes in 2001 killed about 1100 people. San Salvador has been hit by an earthquake in the year 1986 killed 1500 people leaving 10,000 injured and 10,000 homeless.
Severe weather events:
Location of El Salvador on the Pacific Ocean causes severe weather conditions, including severe droughts and heavy rainstorm as well as hurricanes coming off the Caribbean. Landscape of the country has become vulnerable to forest fire and landslides due to heavy deforestation and soil erosion.
Climate:
The climate of El Salvador is tropical with dry and wet seasons. The annual rainfall occurs from May to October and this period is referred to as winter. The mountains as well as central plateaus are more moderate while pacific low lands are hot.
Weather patterns from November to April are controlled by northeast trade winds and this period of year is known as summer. This time the air reaches to the country is dry, hot and hazy and weather becomes hot but not the northern mountain ranges.
Politics and Government:
The highest legal authority in El Salvador is 1983 Constitution. The country has democratic and representative government. The structure of the government consists of:
- The executive branch
- The legislative branch
- The judiciary
The president of the country is not only the head of the state but also the head of the Government.
Economy:
The economy of the country has been hampered many times by natural disasters like hurricane and earthquakes.
In 2007 the growth rate of the GDP was 4.7 %. In 2008 GDP in purchasing power parity was about US $25.895 billion. 64.1% of the GDP comes from service sector, 24.7% from industry and 11.2 % from agriculture. In past the country was producing silver and gold but now this project has been halt by the order of president.
Rate of inflation in the country is steady and lowest in the region.
People of Salvador:
According to the census of 2007 the population is estimated between 7.1 and 7.2 million. Population of the country composed of whites, Mestizos and indigenous peoples. 86 % of the population of El Salvador is of mixed ancestry. The country observes racism and there are many racial laws implemented by the government especially against Blacks, Asians and Gypsies. About 42% of the total population of the country lives in rural areas. San Salvador – the capital city of El Salvador – has a population of almost 2.1 million. The big cities are facing a lot of problems due to mass urbanization.
Language:
Official language of the country is Spanish which is widely spoken by all inhabitants. Some native tongues are also spoken by the indigenous people but they hardly constitute 1 % of the population. However Spanish can be spoken by all.
Important cities of El Salvador:
Besides San Salvador, big cities of El Salvador are Santa Ana, Soyapango, San Miguel, Santa Tecla, Mejicanos, Apopa and Ahuachapan.
Health:
The most recent survey of United Nations, life expectancy for men and women is 68 and 74 respectively. Whereas the healthy life expectancy is 57 for men and 62 for women. The period 2005 – 2010, the country observed the third lowest birth rate (22.8 births per 1000) in Central America. While in the same the period death rate was highest in the Central America with 5.9 deaths per 1000.
Religion:
In El Salvador there found diversity of religious beliefs. The main religion is Christianity as well as Roman Catholic and Evangelicals are other dominant religions with 47 % and 33 % believers respectively. 17 % of the population is secular while remaining 1% is from different religions.
Education:
There is severe lack of resources for public education in El Salvador. In public schools the strength of the class is usually more than 50 students, therefore the parents who can afford send their children in private schools against heavy fee; whereas the system of education they follow is usually American or European. Low income groups are bound to public schools. Through high school education is free in El Salvador.
There is only one public university, Universidad de EL Salvador, in El Salvador with main campus in San Salvador and three other campuses in different cities. The country has many private universities like:
- Universidad Centroamericana “Jose Simeon Canas”, UCA
- Universidad Dr. Jose Matias Delgado
- Universidad Francisco Gaviada, and many others.
Sports:
In El Salvador the most popular game is Football. The national team of football qualified for FIFA WORLD CUP in 1970 as well as in 1982. El Salvador has the largest stadium named Estadio Cuscatlan, in the Caribbean and Central America with 53,400 seats. It was opened in 1976.
Surfing is another popular sport that also attracts tourists in the country.
Tourism:
Comalapa International Airport is the only airport in the country that serves international flights. It is situated 40 km southeast of San Salvador.
The government of El Salvador has focused on tourism industry a lot so it is no wonder that tourism has grown dynamically in recent years. There are 1.27 million tourist visits a year and tourism as industry accounts for 4.6 % of GDP.
Video El Salvador
