Guatemala

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Geography

Main article: Geography of Guatemala

Map of Guatemala

Guatemala is mountainous, except for the south coastal area and the northern vast lowlands of Petén department. Two mountain chains 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; by comparison, Petén is sparsely populated. These three regions vary in climate, elevation, and landscape, providing dramatic contrasts between hot and humid tropical lowlands and colder and drier highland peaks. Volcán Tajumulco, at 4,220 meters, is the highest point in Central America.

Semuc Champey pools in the Cahanón River, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala

Guatemala Highlandss

The rivers are short and shallow in the Pacific vertient, larger and deeper, such as the Polochic which drains in Lake Izabal Río Dulce,(Motagua) and Sartún that forms the boundary with Belize in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico vertient (Usumacinta, which forms the boundary between Chiapas, Mexico and Petén and its tributaries such as La Pasión and San Pedro.

Natural disasters

Guatemala's location on the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean makes it a target for hurricanes, including Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and Hurricane Stan in October of 2005, which killed more than 1,500 people. The damage was not wind related, but rather due to significant flooding.

Guatemala's highlands lie atop the boundary between the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates, and thus are subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, four of them active: Pacaya, Santiaguito, Fuego and Tacaná. The last major earthquake was on February 4, 1976, killing more than 25,000 in the Central Highlands.