El Salvador

The Apaneca-Ilamatepec Biosphere Reserve contains both the oldest volcano in the Central Volcanic Chain, Caldera de Coatepeque as well as a more recent formation, Izalco, a stratovolcano. The reserve hosts important ecosystems for conservation of species and has highly diverse habitats.

The Gulf of Fonseca, a sheltered inlet of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America that is bounded in the northwest by El Salvador, the northeast by Honduras and the southeast by Nicaragua. Notable among the islands in the gulf are Zacate Grande, El Tigre and Meanguera.

Joya de Cerén is an archaeological site located in the Department of La Libertad, El Salvador. The site contains the remains of a pre-Hispanic farming village that was covered by a volcanic eruption in the seventh century AD. It is often referred to as the "Pompeii of the Americas."

Mesoamerica, which literally means "middle America" in Greek, is a historical and cultural region in North America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica.

The Yucatán Peninsula and the Petén Basin/Maya Forest region of Belize, Guatemala and Mexico have become synonymous with Maya ruins however, there are several sites in El Salvador of importance. El Salvador has five archaeological parks plus a Mesoamerican site that is not open to the public.

The Sierra Madre is a mountain system that is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that consists of an almost continuous sequence of ranges. These mountain ranges form the western 'backbone' of North America, Central America, South America and West Antarctica.

The Trifinio Fraternidad Biosphere Reserve is a trinational biosphere reserve located between El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. It is the first transboundary biosphere reserve in Central America and represents a major contribution to implementation of the Mesoamerican Corridor.