Guatemala is located in the northwestern part of Central America. It is a very mountainous country, with a mountain range that crosses it from east to west, which is divided into the Sierra Madre, to the south, and the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, to the north. The Sierra Madre, which skirts the Pacific coast, is full of volcanos, such as the Tajamulco (4,211 m), the Fuego (3,763 m), the Atitlán (3,537 m) and the Pacaya (2,552 m); all of them active. The highland, with a height over 1,500 m, occupies the west, center and south of the territory. The climate is tropical, but the high altitude in most of the territory softens the temperature. In the lower regions, the mean temperature can be as high as 30ºC, but in the highland it is about 17 to 18ºC. The rainy season begins in May and ends in November, varying slightly from one region to another. The dry season begins in November and ends in April.
The country is divided in 22 departments. Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan and Zacapa.
It is bounded on the north and west by Mexico, on the south by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by Belize, Honduras and El Salvador.
The coasts of the Caribbean Sea are comprised in the Gulf of Honduras, where Bay of Amatique is. The coasts of the Pacific Ocean are more extensive, but equally attractive.
Los ríos guatemaltecos corren por las vertientes del Pacífico y del Atlántico. El río Paz marca los límites fronterizos con El Salvador, mientras que el río Suchiate y el Usumacinta, que fue un importante medio de comunicación para los mayas, marcan la frontera con México. El río Polochic tributa al Lago Izábal, que a su vez desagua por medio del río Dulce en la Bahía de Amatique. Muchos de los lagos son de origen volcánico y de gran belleza. El Atitlan, a 1.562 metros de altura y con diversas islas, es el más famoso.
Lake Izabal is on the Caribbean coast. You can also find Lake Atitlán, one of the world’s most beautiful lakes, whose origin is volcanic. It is located 1,560 meters above sea level and surrounded by very green mountains.
The rich and exuberant flora of the country is the result of the variety of climates that exist in the country. The country’s vegetable layer is quite varied, depending on the altitude and the amount of precipitation. In the warm, rainier lands and along the rivers, there are evergreen forests of equatorial climate, where ceiba and mahogany trees prevail. Sapodilla, quinine and breadfruit trees prevail. In the highland and enclosed basin areas there are oak and coniferous forests. Around the 3,000 meters appears the vegetation characteristic of the Puna (high Andean plateau).
The leafy forests are populated by beautiful animals. Among the numerous species of birds stand out woodpeckers, toucans, guanes, parrots, macaws and especially the poc, a diving bird, the only one of its kind in the world and unfortunately endangered. Guatemala is inhabited by jaguars, crocodiles and a great variety of poisonous snakes, such as the coral snake and tropical variants of the rattlesnake. Also noteworthy are turkeys, flamingos, felines, ocelots, pumas, deer, iguanas, marine turtles, snakes, armadillos, anteaters, tapirs and peccaries and an endless number of insects.
