Geological Features/Landforms in Central/North America

Masaya Volcano National Park, consisting of a volcanic caldera with two volcanoes and five craters, was established in 1979 as Nicaragua's first national park. Volcán Masaya is one Nicaragua's most popular tourist attractions due to the opportunity of direct contact with the crater.

The Maya Mountains are a range of hills in west-central Belize that take their name from the Maya people who built great centers in the region. The Cockscomb Range is a spur of the Maya Mountains and includes Victoria Peak, a national monument of Belize.

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System is a marine region, underwater ecosystem and geological structure that stretches from the Yucatán Peninsula down to Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Dazzling arrays of coral form this underwater wilderness, providing homes and food to hundreds of species.

The Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano, is a large arid to semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. The plateau consists of the vast Mesa del Norte (Northern Plateau) and the smaller but heavily populated Mesa Central.

Chirripó National Park is named for its most prominent feature, Cerro Chirripó, the highest mountain in Costa Rica. Five ecosytems found in the park include lowland tropical wet forest, premontane tropical wet forest, lower montane wet forest, montane wet forest and subalpine wet forest (páramo).

Nicoya Peninsula lies along the northern section of Costa Rica's Pacific coast. The Gulf of Nicoya separates the Nicoya Peninsula from the mainland of Costa Rica and encompasses a marine and coastal landscape of wetlands, rocky islands and cliffs.

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate that underlies much of North America and Central America as well as part of the Caribbean Sea. It shares a boundary with the Pacific and Cocos Plates in the west and the Caribbean Plate in the south.

Ometepe Island is located in southwest Nicaragua, formed by two volcanoes rising out of Lake Nicargua. It is the lake's largest island. The two imposing volcanoes, Maderas and Concepcion, define its topography. The island was designated a Biosphere Reserve in 2010.