Ocotal La Sultana del Norte
—  Municipality  —
Ocotoal in 1988
Ocotal Location in Nicaragua
Coordinates: 13°38′N 86°29′W / 13.633°N 86.483°W / 13.633; -86.483
Country	Nicaragua
Department	Nueva Segovia Department
Area
- Total	32.9 sq mi (85.23 km2)
Population (2000)
- Total	31,932

Ocotal is the capital of the Nueva Segovia Department in Nicaragua, Central America.

Description

Ocotal is the capital of the region with light industry and crafts. The main agricultural production is coffee. It is located within the municipality of Ocotal. Ocotal is located 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of the Honduras border on the Pan-American Highway. The city, which has a population of 31,932 (2000), is located in a valley. The name comes from the Nahuatl word for pine resin, due to the local abundant pine ocote (Pinus oocarpa).

Ocotal is bordered by four cities: on the north by Dipilto, on the south by Totogalpa, on the east by Mozonte and on the west by Macuelizo.

The climate of Ocotal, as elsewhere in the department has two seasons:

• rainy season, which starts in mid-May and ends in early November, resulting in an average rainfall of 1,200 cubic millimeters. The temperature at this time is between 20 and 26° C.
• dry season, which starts in mid-November and ends in early May, with the hottest days in March and April, reaching temperatures of 30° C. Notably, the minimum temperatures (10° C) are reached during the month of December.

The Pan-American highway comes into Nicaragua via Los Manos in Honduras and then travels south, giving good access and communication to the rest of Nicaragua. Other roads connect to the other main towns in Nueva Segovia , Jalapa, and Quilalí in the northeast, and Santa Maria and Macuelizo in the northwest.

Administration

There are nine barrios or neighbourhoods, Sandino, Roberto Gómez, Noel Wheelock, Nora Astorga, Pueblos Unidos, Anexo a Laura Sofía, El Zamora, Laura Sofía, and Monseñor Madriga.

Within ocotal there are 10 Municipal zones containing 22 Administrative areas

Geography

Characterized by steep hills in the north and south, plateaus in the west and a valley in the center. It lies at an altitude of 500m above sea level. The surrounding forests are conifers, hardwoods.

History

In 1927, Ocotal suffered one of the first dive bombing attacks in history, conducted by five Marine de Havilland biplanes fighting against Augusto César Sandino. Ocotal is the same city that was founded by Spanish colonialists in Quilalí, in 1543, with the name Nueva Segovia.

During the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya set up a government-in-exile in the city briefly in July during reconciliation negotiations with coup leaders.

Sport

Ocotal has a well known soccer team known as Deportivo Ocotal

Twin towns

Ocotal is twinned with Swindon, United Kingdom, with Hartford, Connecticut, United States, and with Wiesbaden, Germany

Gallery

Coordinates: 13°38′N 86°29′W / 13.633°N 86.483°W / 13.633; -86.483

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  A street in Ocotal

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  View looking down the large set of steps in Ocotal

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Map

A map of Ocotal is being created by the Openstreetmap project here

External references

• Radio Segovia
• Videos in Spanish and some English of Ocotal with links to the surrounding areas
• Brief outline of Ocotal 1999
• Swindon-Ocotal, History of Nicaragua and Ocotal from Twin town Swindon
• Battle of Ocotal
• Battle of Ocotal from Nicanews
• Groundwater study. Includes geography and history (.pdf)
• Home page of Deportivo Ocotal (in Spanish)
• Detailed information on the Sandino Rebellion, includes reports from the battle at Ocotal
• Nicaraguan Expat site
• More information on the central park (Spanish)
• La Gruta de la Virgen de Guadalupe - Ocotal, Nicaragua
• Urban planning - Hurricane Mitch
• Hurricane Mitch
• Report on Landmines Nicaragua page 123

Nueva Segovia Department Capital: Ocotal Municipalities  · Ciudad Antigua · Dipilto · El Jícaro · Jalapa · Macuelizo  · Mozonte · Murra · Ocotal · Quilalí  · San Fernando  · Santa María · Wiwilí de Nueva Segovia