city, eastern El Salvador. It is located at the northern foot of Conchagua Volcano (about 4,100 feet 【1,250 m】), on La Unión Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Fonseca. The city's economic activity centres on a tortoiseshell industry and beach resort facilities. The nearby port of Cutuco, once one of the country's larger ports, has been inactive since 1996. Situated along a spur of the Inter-American Highway, a section of the Pan-American Highway, La Unión is the terminus of the International Railways of Central America, which link it with the Guatemalan Caribbean port of Puerto Barrios. Most of El Salvador's railways are in very poor shape and are mainly used for freight transport. Pop. (2005 est.) urban area, 23,600.