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- Guatemala lies below Mexico in Central America. It shares borders with El Salvador and Honduras to the east and with Mexico to the north and west. Belize borders it on the northeast.
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Jun 19, 2023 · Guatemala is a country located in Central America. It is positioned in the Northern and Western hemispheres of the Earth. It is bordered by Mexico to the north and west; by Belize and the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) to the northeast; by Honduras to the east; by El Salvador to the southeast and by the Pacific Ocean to the south.
Guatemala is located in Central America. Guatemala is bordered by the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) and the Pacific Ocean, Mexico to the north and west, and Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador to the east.
Mexico is bordered by the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico; the United States is to the north, and Belize and Guatemala are to the south. ADVERTISEMENT. Mexico Bordering Countries: Belize, Guatemala, United States of America. Regional Maps: Map of North America, World Map. Where is Mexico? Map of Mexico States.
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Guatemala, country of Central America. The dominance of an Indigenous culture within its interior uplands distinguishes Guatemala from its Central American neighbours. The origin of the name Guatemala is Indigenous, but its derivation and meaning are undetermined. Some hold that the original form was Quauhtemallan (indicating an Aztec rather than a Mayan origin), meaning “land of trees,” and others hold that it is derived from Guhatezmalha, meaning “mountain of vomiting water”—referring no doubt to such volcanic eruptions as the one that destroyed Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala (now Antigua Guatemala), the first permanent Spanish capital of the region’s captaincy general. The country’s contemporary capital, Guatemala City, is a major metropolitan centre. Quetzaltenango, in the western highlands, is the nucleus of the Indigenous population.
After gaining independence from Spain in the 1820s, Guatemala had a long history of government by authoritarian rule and military regimes until it came under democratic rule in 1985. Starting in 1954, Guatemala’s governments faced formidable guerrilla opposition that sparked civil war that lasted for 36 years until peace accords were signed in 1996. The struggles of Guatemala’s Indigenous peoples during the war years were illuminated when Rigoberta Menchú, a Quiché Maya and an advocate for Indigenous communities throughout Latin America, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.
Guatemala is bounded to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize and (along a short coastline) by the Gulf of Honduras, to the east by Honduras, to the southeast by El Salvador, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean.
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The surface of Guatemala is characterized by four major topographical features. Southern Guatemala is dominated by a string of 27 volcanoes extending for about 180 miles (300 km) between Mexico and El Salvador. Between the volcanoes and the Pacific Ocean lies a fertile plain ranging 25–30 miles (40–50 km) in width. The Petén region, a large, low-lying, rectangular area, juts northward to occupy a portion of the Yucatán Peninsula, a limestone platform shared with Mexico and Belize. Sandwiched between the volcanic landscape and the Petén are the high mountain ranges and valleys. These arc gently eastward from Mexico for a distance of 210 miles (340 km), extending into northern Honduras.
The volcanic region of Guatemala consists of three elements: a row of volcanoes of geologically recent origin, flanked by a deeply eroded volcanic tableland of older origin to the north and the narrow coastal plain constructed of volcanic debris on the Pacific slope. The alignment of volcanic cones begins with the Tacaná Volcano (13,428 feet [4,093 metres]), located on the frontier with Mexico, and continues eastward across Guatemala into El Salvador. Among these are three continuously active volcanoes: the growing summit of Santiaguito (8,202 feet [2,500 metres]) located on the southern flanks of Santa María (12,375 feet [3,772 metres]); Fuego (12,582 feet [3,835 metres]); and Pacaya (8,371 feet [2,552 metres]). The highest peak is Tajumulco (13,845 feet [4,220 metres]). The city of Antigua Guatemala is precariously situated beneath three volcanoes: Agua Volcano (12,350 feet [3,760 metres]), Fuego Volcano (12,336 feet [3,763 metres]), and Acatenango Volcano (13,045 feet [3,976 metres]). Lava flow from Pacaya is sometimes visible from Guatemala City.
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From the base of the volcanic row, at an elevation of about 1,500 feet (450 metres), the Pacific coastal plain gradually slopes south to sea level at the shoreline of the ocean. The plain extends east-west for a distance of about 150 miles (240 km) and is one of the country’s richest agricultural areas. Three-fourths of the population and most of the major cities are concentrated in the volcanic region and the Pacific slope, and the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes characteristic of this area have repeatedly taken a heavy toll of property and life.
The rugged and deeply dissected volcanic highlands, which lie to the north of the volcanic row, average 9,000 feet (2,750 metres) in elevation near the Mexican border and decline gradually to 3,000 feet (900 metres) at the opposite border with El Salvador. Ash-filled basins and scenic lakes are scattered throughout this region.
The east-flowing Motagua River and west-flowing Cuilco pass in opposite directions through a structural trough that serves as the boundary between the volcanic terrain of southern Guatemala and the sierras of its midsection. The sierra region is drained by large rivers that flow primarily north into the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Usumacinta River...
The volcanic belt of southern Guatemala contains some of the most productive soils; nevertheless, the northernmost sector of this region is particularly subject to erosion induced by the prevalence of steep slopes and deforestation. Within the sierra region, heavier rainfall—combined with centuries of cultivation of the thinner soils on the steep s...
The country is located in Central America and bounded to the north and west by Mexico, to the east by Belize and by the Gulf of Honduras, to the east by Honduras, to the southeast by El Salvador, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean.
Guatemala. Guatemala has a rich and distinctive culture from the extended mixing of elements from Spain and the Maya people who are native to Central America. This diverse history and the natural beauty of the land have created a destination rich in interesting and scenic sites. Map.
