Bodies of Water of Central America

The Azuero Peninsula is in southern Panama, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Panama. Panama City, the Panamanian capital, is the main urban center on the gulf shore. The Pearl Islands are an archipelago in the Gulf of Panama.

Golfo Dulce lies between the Osa Peninsula and the southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Coronado Bay lies to the northwest. The peninsula contains a complex of national parks and protects one of Central America's most significant stands of the virgin rainforest.

The Gulf of Darién is the southernmost extension of the Caribbean Sea, situated off the northwestern coast of Colombia and the southeastern coast of Panama. The Gulf of Urabá, a long, wide inlet located on the coast of Colombia, is the southernmost portion of the Gulf of Darién.

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.

The Bay Islands are a group of eight islands and 53 small cays situated within the Gulf of Honduras, an inlet of the Caribbean Sea. The island of Roatán rests on an exposed ancient coral reef and has become an important cruise, diving and eco-tourism destination in Honduras.

Lake Atitlán and Volcán Atitlán lie in a spectacular setting in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre of southwestern Guatemala. The lake is the deepest in Central America and is renowned as one of the most beautiful in the world. As a result, it is the country's most important tourist attraction.

The 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.