COBAN

city, north-central Guatemala, situated 4,331 feet (1,320 m) above sea level in the Sierra de Cham on the Cahabn River. Founded about 1538 near Mayan ruins and named for the Indian chieftain Cobau, the city developed as the major urban centre of northern Guatemala. A 17th-century church still stands. The agricultural hinterland is best known for its coffee, but tea, cacao, vanilla, spices, grains, livestock, and hardwoods are also significant. The city was formerly an important commercial and manufacturing centre. Much of the agricultural produce now bypasses Cobn and goes directly to Guatemala City, 130 miles (210 km) south, by a highway opened in 1958. Nearby Mayan ruins include pyramids and ornamental friezes. Also nearby are the Lanqun Caves, a vast network of underground grottoes about 250 miles (400 km) long with stalactites and stalagmites and penetrated by the Lanqun River with its blind white fish. A nearby natural bridge extends 200 feet (60 m) across Cahabn Gorge. The city is transformed every August by a fiesta drawing many tourists. Pop. (1990 est.) 23,986.