Managua () is a department in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. It covers an area of 3,465 km² and has a population of 1,559,774 (2021 estimate), making it the country's most populated department. The capital is the city of

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

, which is also the capital of Nicaragua. The department has two coastlines, on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

and on

Lake Managua Lake Managua (, ), also known as Lake Xolotlán (), is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. At 1,042 km², it is approximately long and wide. Similarly to the name of Lake Nicaragua, its other name comes from the Nahuatl language, possibly from ...

, but does not border

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada (, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest fresh water lake in Central America, the List of lakes by area, 19th largest lake in the world (by are ...

. The

Nahua The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...

chiefdom of Tekwantepek was located in the Managua department. According to Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

and historian

Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (August 1478 – 1557), commonly known as Oviedo, was a Spanish soldier, historian, writer, botanist and colonist. Oviedo participated in the Spanish colonization of the West Indies, arriving in the first fe ...

, Tekwantepek was one of the last chiefdoms in present-day Nicaragua to fall to the conquistadors and their central-Mexican allies. The chiefdom's name is a combination of the

Nawat Nawat (academically Pipil, also known as Nahuat) is a Nahuan languages, Nahuan language native to Central America. It is the southernmost extant member of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan family. Before Spanish colonization of the Americas ...

words ''tēkwani'' (

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

), and ''tepek'' (hill), therefore the translation of Tekwantepek is "hill of jaguars" or "jaguar hill". The municipality of Ticuantepe located in the department is likely named after this chiefdom. The Indigenous inhabitants of Managua are the Chorotegas and

Nahuas The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...

Municipalities

# Ciudad Sandino # El Crucero #

# Mateare # San Francisco Libre # San Rafael del Sur # Ticuantepe # Tipitapa # Villa Carlos Fonseca

References

Departments of Nicaragua {{Nicaragua-geo-stub