San Salvador is a depairtment o El Salvador in the wast central pairt o the kintra. The caipital is San Salvador, which is an aa the naitional caipital. The depairtment haes North o the Rio Lempa Valley, the "Valle de las Hamacas" (Hammock Valley) an a section o Lake Ilopango. Some o the depairtment's ceeties that are densely populatit are: San Salvador, Ciudad Delgado, Mejicanos, Soyapango, Panchimalco an Apopa. The depairtment covers an aurie o 886 km² an haes a population o nearly 3 million. It wis classifee'd as a depairtment on Juin 12, 1824. Durin the time o the colony, the depairtment wis the San Salvador Pairty, frae whaur territory wis taken tae mak the depairtments o Chalatenago, La Libertad, Cuscatlán an La Paz.