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Jun 19, 2023 · This page was last updated on June 19, 2023. Physical map of Guatemala showing major cities, terrain, national parks, rivers, and surrounding countries with international borders and outline maps. Key facts about Guatemala.
Nov 15, 2021 · Large detailed map of Guatemala with cities and towns. This map shows cities, towns, highways, main roads, secondary roads, railroads and airports in Guatemala. You may download, print or use the above map for educational, personal and non-commercial purposes. Attribution is required.
Directions. Satellite. Photo Map. 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.
May 13, 2024 · By: GISGeography Last Updated: April 27, 2024. Download. This map of Guatemala features cities, lakes, rivers, railroads, and highways. It includes satellite imagery and an elevation map to view the topography of Guatemala.
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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...
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Map is showing Guatemala and the surrounding countries with international borders, provincial boundaries, the national capital Guatemala (City), provincial capitals, major cities, main roads, railroads and major airports. You are free to use this map for educational purposes, please refer to the Nations Online Project. Bookmark/share this page
