Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as of the department of the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in 1852. Prior to its inception as the capital city, the title had alternated between the cities of León and Granada. The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake and the ensuing years of war in the 1980s severely disrupted and stunted Managua's growth. It was not until the mid-1990s that Managua began to see a resurgence in investment and infrastructural development. The city has a metropolitan population of about 2,408,000, which includes the neighboring cities of Ciudad Sandino and Tipitapa. Managua is composed predominantly of mestizos and whites who are mainly of Spanish descent, with a minority being of French, Jewish Nicaraguan, German Nicaraguan, Italian, Russian and Turkish descent. Managua is the second most populous city in Central America, after Guatemala City.