San Andrés Semetabaj
San Andrés Semetabaj (Spanish pronunciation: [san anˈdɾes semetaˈβax]) is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. According to Jorge Luis Arriola's Geonimias de Guatemala (English:Name origins of geographic locations in Guatemala), Semetabaj means "stone of glass-like appearance" and originates from the Spanish word "semet", which means : bottle or flask and, by extension, glass, and by the k'akch'iquel "abaj" which means "stone". Originally, it was called San Andrés Limetabaj.
San Andrés Semetabaj | |
|---|---|
  San Andrés Semetabaj Location in Guatemala | |
| Coordinates: 14°44′42″N 91°08′06″W | |
| Country |  Guatemala |
| Department |  Sololá |
| Municipality | San Andrés Semetabaj |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gaspar Chumil Morales[1] (URNG-MAIZ) |
| Population (Census 2002) | |
| • Religions | Roman Catholicism Evangelicalism Maya |
| Climate | Csb |
History
The oldest reference of San Andrés Semetabaj after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala is in the Franciscan convent report written by friar Francisco de Zuasa in 1689, who said that San Andrés Semetabaj was a small town under the jurisdiction of the convent in Panajachel, with population 315 (297 natives and 18 criollos).
In his Descripción Geográfico-Moral de la Diósesis de Goathemala (English:Moral-geographic description of the Guatemalan diocese), archbishop Pedro Cortés y Larraz, written in 1770 after his ecclesiastical visit to his new archidiocese, talks about the San Andrés Tzemetabah town, which, with a population of 320 people was an annex to the San Francisco Panajachel parish.[2]
Annual fair
The annual fair in honor to Saint Andrew Apostle takes places during the last five days of November, being the main day 30 November, the celebration of the Apostle.
Climate
San Andrés Semetabaj has temperate climate (Köppen: Csb).
| Climate data for San Andrés Semetabaj | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 21.7 (71.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
24.0 (75.2) |
23.6 (74.5) |
21.6 (70.9) |
22.4 (72.3) |
22.9 (73.2) |
22.2 (72.0) |
22.1 (71.8) |
22.0 (71.6) |
21.6 (70.9) |
22.5 (72.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 15.4 (59.7) |
15.4 (59.7) |
16.7 (62.1) |
17.8 (64.0) |
18.2 (64.8) |
17.2 (63.0) |
17.5 (63.5) |
17.6 (63.7) |
17.2 (63.0) |
17.1 (62.8) |
16.1 (61.0) |
15.3 (59.5) |
16.8 (62.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 9.1 (48.4) |
8.8 (47.8) |
10.0 (50.0) |
11.6 (52.9) |
12.8 (55.0) |
12.9 (55.2) |
12.7 (54.9) |
12.3 (54.1) |
12.3 (54.1) |
12.1 (53.8) |
10.3 (50.5) |
9.1 (48.4) |
11.2 (52.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 0 (0) |
5 (0.2) |
5 (0.2) |
24 (0.9) |
87 (3.4) |
283 (11.1) |
166 (6.5) |
162 (6.4) |
306 (12.0) |
152 (6.0) |
50 (2.0) |
6 (0.2) |
1,246 (48.9) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[3] Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrología de Guatemala[4] | |||||||||||||
Geographic location
The municipal capital is 1945 m above sea level.[3]
Places adjacent to San Andrés Semetabaj | ||||||||||||||||
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The municipal capital is reachable through a paved road and through the "Las Trampas" access road, which merges with the CA1 highway (Inter American Highway, km 117) and has a length of 22 km. Guatemala City is 143 km away from San Andrés Semetabaj to the East.[5]
Notes and references
References
- "Alcaldes electos en el departamento de Sololá". Municipalidades de Guatemala (in Spanish). Guatemala. 12 October 2015. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- Cortés y Larraz 1770.
- "Climate: San Andrés Semetabaj". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- Departamento de Investigación y servicios meteorológicos. "Isotermas de temperatura mínima absoluta anual" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 17, 2012.; "Isotermas de temperatura máxima absoluta anual". Archived from the original on May 24, 2012.; "Isotermas de temperatura máxima promedio anual". Archived from the original on May 15, 2012.; "Isotermas de temperature mínima promedio annual". Archived from the original on May 29, 2012.; "Sumatoria de días con lluvia promedio anual". Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Metereología e Hidrología (in Spanish). Guatemala. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
- SEGEPLAN. "Municipios del departamento de Sololá". SEGEPLAN (in Spanish). Guatemala. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
Bibliography
- Cortés y Larraz, Pedro (1770). Descripción Geográfico-Moral de la Diócesis de Goathemala (in Spanish). Guatemala: Diócesis de Guatemala.
