See this updated post about Lake Ilopango, Jan. 2014
Many times while driving east out of San Salvador I have wondered about Lago Ilopango. It is a large natural lake and quite beautiful; yet many Salvadorans are ambiguous of it. Perhaps it is because it looms in the collective subconscious as the source of the largest natural disaster in the last 3,000 years of Salvadoran history – and there have been a lot disasters.
Lago Ilopango is a crater lake, similar to Crater Lake in Oregon, Coatepeque in western El Salvador, and Atitlan in Guatemala. It must have been a massive volcano since the lake itself is about 10 km by 6 km. It likely towered over neighbors Chichontepec and Quetzaltepec. Ilopango Volcano erupted between 200 and 250 A.D., according to Robert Sharer in “The Ancient Maya.” Wikipedia’s entry on the lake mistakenly places the eruption during the 5th Century AD. It was a huge blast – about twice as large as the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines.
The timing of the Ilopango eruption coincides perfectly with two of the most important events in Mayan history: the decline of the pre-Classic Maya culture along the Pacific Coast from southeastern Mexico to eastern El Salvador and the start of Classic Mayan civilization in the interior, including Copan and Tikal.
The center of pre-Classic Mayan culture stretched from Izapa in Chiapas to Chalchuapa in western El Salvador. This region consists of broad coastal plains which eventually rise to volcanic mountains. Both Izapa and Chalchuapa showed signs of pre-civilization as early as 1500 BC, matching the establishment of the Olmec centers in Mexico. By 100 AD, there are signs of writing and advanced astronomy. At numerous Salvadoran sites there are remains of the advanced polychrome ceramic that became typical of the Mayan classic period. The Ilopango eruption caused an ash covering so thick that all land within a 60-kilometer radius was uninhabitable for at least 150 years. Chalchuapa would have been right on the edge of this thick ash covering. In any case, all the Salvadoran Mayan centers became depopulated within a few years of the eruption and the entire Pacific coast area up to Izapa began to decline. This shows the importance of the Salvadoran Mayan centers.
Where did the Salvadoran Maya go to? It is well-established that the Mayans who settled Copan in about 1000 BC maintained close connections with the Guatemala-El Salvador coast. Copan is the most logical choice, however, by 250 AD, Mayan city states began to form throughout the interior from Copan to the Peten and beyond. Sharer speculates that the most logical cause of the start of Mayan Classic civilization was the sudden introduction of new local elites forced to leave their beloved homeland in El Salvador. They arrived already with knowledge of writing, astronomy, agriculture, and trade routes stretching from central Mexico to Ecuador, with Costa Rica and Panama in between.
The Ilopango eruption gives us the best clue as to the origin of the Mayan civilization!
First posted Nov. 27, 2009 on BlogBox
Tim: we met in Chalatenango many yeras ago,
I do think you may be correct in your thesis of the easter El Salvador-Arcatao- opan Rute. But I know since I was a little kid, another Chorti Route to Copan, Ialso heard of another place in Chalate that was named Teosinte. I hope to verfy this site very soon. Also, some of us, that had Chorti's great grand mothers, know some other words in Chalate. Please call me at 240-271 4685. We might be able to work toguether. I know you will not remember my name. As soon as we speak, you will remember me.
Posted by: Raul Rodriguez | 03/19/2011 at 09:17 PM
Raul, I will give you a call soon. I'm sure I'll remember you when we speak. Yes, I've been to the other Teosinte, by way of Tejutla. A magical place. I hiked up into the mountains and it was full of grass, I could imagine teosinte grass there. I would love to hear some Chorti stories from you. Tim
Posted by: Tim Lohrentz | 04/03/2011 at 06:02 PM
Hey guys, I Don't know much about the Chorti heritage, shame on Me, but I can tell you some things about Ilopango Lake, I'm a scuba diver and we know and area 45 feet deep were there's a rock formation that looks like stairs carved on Rocks,I also work in a Salt Works in Fonseca Gulf, and found some Rock formations that look like ancient Precolombine Saltworks, really I wish I know More... Thanks...
Posted by: Mario | 08/21/2011 at 11:37 PM