Regional Geography of Central America


Outline

1.     Physical Characteristics

o   Relative location

o   Landscape and Physical Environment

o   Weather and climate

2.     Human Characteristics

o   Population, Density and Age/Sex characteristics

o   Language and religion

o   Cultural/ethnic groups

3.     Economic Characteristics

o   Major economic activities

o   Imports and Exports

o   GNP and GNP per capita

4.     References


Physical Characteristics

Guatemala encompasses an area that is fractured both in the sense of its connectivity and its history. The country is located on the Central American Isthmus but at the very northern edge. It is directly south of Mexico and is bordered by many countries including Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador.  It covers an area of 108,889 square kilometers, which is roughly the size of Louisiana. (Lonely Planet)

Guatemals has a diverse and beautiful landscape filled with lakes, volcanoes, mountains, desert and rainforest.  Most of the country lies above the North American tectonic plate but also lies above the Cocos plate along the Pacific coast and the Caribban plate in the far south of the country, so the area is succeptible to earthquakes and volcanoes which have claimed many lives over the years. The northern part of the country houses the rainforest and the ancient Maya ruins. Here you can see many tropical wildlife that is indigenous to the area.  There are lakes scattered across the country and each one contains crystal blue waters and plenty of fish.  There is a spectacular chain of 30 volcanoes that runs parallel to the Pacific coast from the Mexican border to the border with El Salvador. (Lonely Planet)

The weather and climate of Guatemala will vary depending on the area that you are in.  The northeastern portion of Guatemala is tropical rainforest so there is a tropical climate with rain all year in some areas and wet and dry seasons in others. The southwest portion of the country is also tropical but it has a distinct wet and dry season.  Around Antigua there is warm to hot summers and mild winters. (Lonely Planet)

 

Human Characteristics

There are roughly 17.6 million people living in Guatemala. Of those 17.6 million people about 35% are under age 15 and only 5% are over age 65.  The average life expectancy of males is 69 and 76 for females. The gross national income is $8,310 and roughly 59% of the population lives in poverty. The infant mortality is 20 for every 1,000 live births. 51% of the population is living in and urban area. (PRB)

There are many indigenous languages spoken around the region but Spanish is the most commonly spoken language.  There are some variations in spoken Spanish around the region.  The main religion of the area is Catholicism but Evangelical Protestants have made a surprising growth in the area. The majority of people in this region are Roman Catholic. In most of these countries, the Catholic population ranges from 80 to 90 percent. Forcing the indigenous population to accept Catholicism was not an easy task for the Spaniards. One factor, however, that made conversion possible was that Catholicism has many saints, and the indigenous religions have many gods. Hence, for many indigenous peoples, Catholicism has been mixed with indigenous religions to form a combination of the two religions. In recent years, evangelical Protestant groups have created challenges to the Catholic Church in Central America. Protestant groups have aggressively pursued converts in these countries. In some instances, struggles over converts have resulted in violent conflicts between Catholics and Protestants. (Lonely Planet)

The majority of cultural and ethnic groups in this area depend on which region you are looking at.  Around Mexico City is where the great Aztec civilization was established and a lot of their influences are still around.  Moving further south was the Maya civilization and just like the Aztecs, their influence on culture remains strong. (Finlayson)

Economic Characteristics

Guatemala is considered to be part of the developing world. There is economic diversity, however 59% of the country lives in poverty. (Lonley Planet)

Guatemala’s trade has been very dependent on coffee and bananas. For quite some time, coffee has been the main source of revenue for the region with bananas at a close second. Guatemala’s largest trade partner is the United States. (Lonely Planet)

As mentioned earlier the GNP of Guatemala is $8,310 which makes the GNP per capita roughly $4,400.  Looking at these numbers you can see that more than half the country is living in poverty. (PRB)

References

·       Clammer, Paul, and Ray Bartlett. Lonely Planet Guatemala. Lonely Planet Global Limited, 2019.

·       “Data Center: International Indicators.” Population Reference Bureau, 2019, www.prb.org/international/geography/guatemala.

·       FINLAYSON, CAITLIN. WORLD REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY. S.n., 2019, Pressbooks, worldgeo.pressbooks.com/chapter/middle-and-south-america/#chapter-199-section-3.

 


Submitted by Jennie P. on 4/23/2020.