GuatemalaGeography

Geography Above is a map of Guatemala, it is located just south of Mexico. Along with Mexico, Guatemala shares borders with three other countries, and two bodies of water. As you can see in the map above the countries are Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador; while the bodies of water are the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. This area is commonly referred to as Central America. Guatemala has a land area of 42,043 sq. mi., which is about the size of Tennessee. Using this political map tell me Guatemala's capital?
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Topography In the map above you can see Guatemala has a plain that runs along the Pacific coast, and then as you look eastward a mountain range with altitudes up to 13,816 ft. is present. This mountainous region takes up 2/3 of the land area, and contains some volcanic mountains. Guatemala is home to thirty volcanoes, six of which are considered active. This area of Guatemala is very geologically active, and has experienced many earthquakes. If you look to the north of the mountains, you can see what is known as the Caribbean lowlands which is created by three major rivers the Motagua, Polochic, and Sarstun. If you look even further north you will notice the Peten which is a lowland forrest once home to the Mayans. Using the map above can you find Guatemala's two largest lakes?

Climate Guatemala is sometimes called the "Land of Eternal Spring", this is due to its consistent temperatures. On average the high yearly temperature is 79 degrees; while the low is only 61 degrees. Guatemala has it's rainy season from May to October and it's dry season from November to April. Because of Guatemala's location it does encounter an occasional hurricane. Using both of the maps above, can you explain which place, Moytua or Huehuetenango would be colder and why?

Population Guatemala has a population of 12,701,000 people within its borders. That number makes it the 69th most populated country in the world. It is estimated about 39% of the population live in urban centers, which means 61% live outside of the cities. On average a woman in Guatemala has 5 babies which has causes it population to grow at a rate of 2.8%. The capital is home to 951,000 people while the other two large cities Quezaltenango and Escuintla are home to 250,000 and 68,000 respectively. Using the map above can you find the three most populated areas of Guatemala? How many more people live in the capital than Quezaltenango and Escuintla combined?

Resources This map makes it easy to see that Guatemala has a large resource in agriculture. Agriculture makes up just over half of the jobs in Guatemala. Sugar and bananas are two of the countries most profitable crops. Even though this map has very little purple or coffee areas, coffee is Guatemala's number one cash crop. Can you think of a reason why this is the case? Another resource in Guatemala is its industry. These industries include food processing, publishing, mining, and manufacturing. Guatemala manufactures textiles such as clothing, cement, tires, and pharmaceuticals. If you wanted to go to a city that could mill your flour, what city would you go to?

References  "Guatemala Political Map" Sun. 1 May 2011 <[]>  "Guatemala Physical Map" Sun. 1 May 2011 <[]>  "Guatemala" Sun 1 May 2011 <[]>   "Land and Water Area of States" Sun 1 May 2011 <[]>   "MapCruzin" Sun 1 May 2011 < []  > "Guatemala" Sun 1 May 2011 <[]>


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