Lake Coatepeque is of volcanic origin, and is located 18 kilometers south of the city of Santa Ana. It has an altitude of 745 meters above sea level, an area of 25.3 square kilometers, and a depth of 115 meters. The lake has an island called Isla del Cerro or Teopán. The toponym “Coatepeque” means “Hill of Snakes” in the Nahuatl language.

This lake is 50,000 years old, and experienced a fierce period of mega-telluric activity that ended with a huge explosion that left the huge gap of more than 20 kilometers radius and about two kilometers deep, which began a long process of capturing rainy and underground waters to become a lake. More than 20,000 people live around the lake, and an average of 5,000 tourists visit the lake every month.