Editing Sonsonate Department (section)

{{Short description|Department of El Salvador}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2024}}
{{Expand Spanish}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Sonsonate
| settlement_type = [[Departments of El Salvador|Department]]
| image_flag = Bandera Sonsonate SV.png
| image_map = Sonsonate in El Salvador.svg
| mapsize = frameless
| map_caption = Location within El Salvador
| coordinates = {{coord|13.703|-89.693|region:SV_type:adm1st|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|El Salvador}}
| established_title = Created<br/>{{nobold|{{small|(given&nbsp;current&nbsp;status)}}}}
| established_date = 1824
| seat = [[Sonsonate]]
|seat1_type= Largest city
|seat1= [[Izalco]]<ref name="_2024">{{cite web|url=https://censo2024.bcr.gob.sv/wp-content/uploads/tablas-geoportal/2025/Informe%20_VII_Censo_de_Poblacion_y_VI_de_Vivienda_marzo_2025.pdf|title=Censo de Población y Vivienda 2024|access-date=2025-04-29|publisher=Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador|lang=es|archive-date=2025-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250405064936/https://censo2024.bcr.gob.sv/wp-content/uploads/tablas-geoportal/2025/Informe%20_VII_Censo_de_Poblacion_y_VI_de_Vivienda_marzo_2025.pdf|pages=117-123}}</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 1225.8
| area_rank = [[List of Salvadoran departments by area|Ranked 9th]]
| population_total = 470,455
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_as_of = 2024
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Población total por departamento |trans-title=Total population per department |url=https://geoportal.bcr.gob.sv/pages/poblacion |access-date=13 November 2024 |website=Portal Geoestadístico Resultados del Censo de Población y Vivienda 2024 |language=es}}</ref>
| population_rank = [[List of Salvadoran departments by population|Ranked 6th]]
| timezone = [[Central Standard Time|CST]]
| utc_offset = −6
| area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in El Salvador|Calling code]]
| area_code = 
| iso_code = [[ISO 3166-2:SV|SV-SO]]
}}
'''Sonsonate''' ({{IPA|es|sonsoˈnate}}) is a [[Departments of El Salvador|department]] of [[El Salvador]] in the western part of the country. The capital is [[Sonsonate]].

The department has an area of 1,226&nbsp;km².{{Cn|date=November 2024}}

Created on June 12, 1824, the El Salvador National Parliament decided on January 29, 1859, to separate the cities of Apaneca, San Pedro Puxtla, Guaymango, and Jujutla from the department and transfer these cities to the Santa Ana Department.{{Cn|date=November 2024}}

Sonsonate was the second capital of the Federal Republic of Central America in 1834.{{Cn|date=November 2024}}

The department remains a center of Pipil culture in the country, preserving several ancient traditions and home to most of the few remaining Nahua speakers in El Salvador.{{Cn|date=November 2024}}

It is a predominantly agricultural area, with extremely fertile volcanic soils that were once the most valuable resource in Central America for the Spanish conquistadors, who profited from its ancient [[cacao plantation]]s. Its name, meaning "Place of 400 rivers" or "Place of many waters," is fitting as the department receives well over 2,000mm (79&nbsp;inches) of rain a year.{{Cn|date=November 2024}}