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.