Central America

Belize is located along the Caribbean coast of northeastern Central America. Known as British Honduras until 1973, its geography consists of heavily forested plains and the Maya Mountains. The Belize Barrier Reef System flanks the coastline while cays and atolls dot the reef.

A number of well-known and historically important pre-Columbian Maya archaeological sites are found in Belize, considered part of the southern Maya lowlands of the Mesoamerican culture area. The sites found here were occupied until the arrival of the Spanish.

Costa Rica is located in southern Central America, bordered by Nicaragua in the north and Panama in the southeast. The Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean form its eastern and southwestern coastlines. Its geography features coastal plains and rainforests separated by rugged mountains and volcanoes.

El Salvador is located in northern Central America, where it is both the smallest and most densely populated country. Its geographic landscape features two parallel mountain ranges that cross the country with a central plateau between them and a narrow coastal plain hugging the Pacific Ocean.

El Salvador has five archaeological parks plus a Mesoamerican site. 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.

Guatemala is the third-largest country in Central America. Situated in a geologically active region, its geography is characterized by three major geographic regions or zones: the Petén lowlands, the Guatemalan highlands, and the Pacific coast flatlands.

Honduras, located in northern Central America, is mostly mountainous. Lowlands are located along its Pacific and Caribbean coasts and the river valleys of the interior. Most of the population resides in the central highlands, an economically important agricultural region.

Nicaragua is situated in Central America between Honduras in the north and Costa Rica in the south. Its geography divides the country into three major zones: the Pacific lowlands, the north-central highlands, and the Caribbean lowlands or Mosquito Coast.

Panama is the southernmost country of Central America, located on the elongated S-shape Isthmus of Panama, the narrow land bridge that connects North and South America. Its landscape consists of three major physical regions: mountains, coastal lowlands, and archipelagos.