Date post: | 09-May-2015 |
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Central America
Physical Geography
Countries of Central America
Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama
Map of Central America
Physical Geography
Central America is the southernmost part of the North American Continent
It is often considered a sub-continent The region is geologically active, with
volcanic eruptions and earthquakes happening from time to time
Mountain Ranges
The longest mountain ranges are:– Sierra Madre de Chiapas– Cordillera Isabelia– Cordillera de Talamanca
Most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala live in valleys, where coffee and beans are grown.
Biodiversity
Amphibians Birds Mammals Reptiles Vascular plants
Belize 46 544 147 140 2894
Costa Rica 183 838 232 258 12119
El Salvador 30 434 137 106 2911
Guatemala 133 684 193 236 8681
Honduras 101 699 201 213 5680
Nicaragua 61 632 181 178 7590
Panama 182 904 241 242 9915
Central America has 7% of the world’s biodiversity, which is the diversity, or variety, of plants and animals and other living things in a particular area or region.
Population/Area Comparison with South Carolina
S.C. Belize Costa Rica El Salvador
Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama
Area 32,020 22,966 51,100 21,040 10,8890 112,090 130,373 78,200
Population 4, 625,384 307,000 4,579,000 6,163,000 14, 027,000 7,466,000 5,743,000 3,454,000
Capital Columbia Belmopan San Jose San Salvador
Guatemala City
Tegucigalpa Managua Panama City
Language English English Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is located between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
Nicaragua is to the north, and Panama is to the South
It is slightly smaller than West Virginia
Map of Costa Rica
El Salvador
It is the smallest country in continental America, bordered by Guatemala and Honduras.
It is the only Central American country that does not have a Caribbean coastline.
The Lempa River, which flows through Guatemala and Honduras across El Salvador to the ocean is navigable for commercial traffic.
Map of El Salvador
Guatemala
Bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the north east, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast.
The country is mountainous with small desert and sand dune patches and hilly valleys.
There are two mountain chains that enter Guatemala from west to east, dividing the country into three major regions: the highlands, where the mountains are located; the Pacific coast, south of the mountains; and the Petén region, north of the mountains.
All major cities are located in the highlands and Pacific coast regions.
Map of Guatemala
Honduras
The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.
Map of Honduras
Nicaragua
The largest country in Central America The country is bordered by Honduras to the
north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of the
country, the Caribbean to the east Nearly one fifth of the territory is designated
as protected areas like national parks, nature reserves, and biological reserves
Map of Nicaragua
Panama
the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South
America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south.
The dominant feature of the country's landform is the central spine of mountains and hills that forms the continental divide.
Nearly 500 rivers lace Panama's rugged landscape
The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is an important waterway that cuts through the isthmus of Panama. The canal is human made and was completed in 1914. The canal eliminated the long trip around Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America.
Map of Panama
Roads
The Pan-American Highway runs through Central America except for a 54 mile break called the Darien Gap.
It is the longest motorable road according to Guiness World Records.
El Nino
El Nino is a variation in the ocean and atmospheric temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. When the ocean temperature increases it causes ocean currents to reverse direction and can impact the weather in Latin America in many different ways.