The City of San Salvador is the capital and largest city of the nation of El Salvador. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador, The City of the Great Holy Savior. It lies upon a seismic valley in the tropics, surrounded with volcanos and prone to earthquakes, which is why the Pipil and the Spaniards called the area in which the metropolis is now settled in "El Valle de las Hamacas" (The Valley of the Hammocks) due to its constant seismic activity. The city has a long history, with origins dating back to the Spanish conquest of the Pipil tribes. San Salvador has been the host city for various regional and international sporting, political, and social events.