Geography of Nicaragua
Template:Short description Template:Infobox country geography
Nicaragua (officially the Republic of Nicaragua Template:Langx Template:IPA) is a country in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras. Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America in square kilometers.
Nicaragua covers a total area of 130,370 square kilometers (119,990 square kilometers of which is land area) and contains a variety of climates and terrains.<ref name=":0">Template:Citation-attribution</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Citation-attribution</ref> The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: the Pacific lowlands, the wetter, cooler central highlands, and the Caribbean lowlands.<ref name=":0" />
Natural regions
The natural regions of Nicaragua are the Pacific lowlands, central highlands, and Caribbean lowlands.
Pacific lowlands
The Pacific lowlands extend about 75 kilometers inland from the Pacific coast.<ref name=":0" /> Most of the area is flat, except for a line of young volcanoes, many of which are still active, running between the Golfo de Fonseca and Lago de Nicaragua.<ref name=":0" /> These peaks lie just west of a large crustal fracture or structural rift that forms a long, narrow depression passing southeast across the isthmus from the Golfo de Fonseca to the Río San Juan.<ref name=":0" />
The rift is occupied in part by the largest freshwater lakes in Central America: Lago de Managua (56 kilometers long and 24 kilometers wide) and Lago de Nicaragua (about 160 kilometers long and 75 kilometers wide).<ref name=":0" /> These two lakes are joined by the Río Tipitapa, which flows south into Lago de Nicaragua.<ref name=":0" /> Lago de Nicaragua in turn drains into the Río San Juan (the boundary between Nicaragua and Costa Rica), which flows through the southern part of the rift lowlands to the Caribbean Sea.<ref name=":0" />
The valley of the Río San Juan forms a natural passageway close to sea level across the Nicaraguan isthmus from the Caribbean Sea to Lago de Nicaragua and the rift.<ref name=":0" /> From the southwest edge of Lago de Nicaragua, it is only nineteen kilometers to the Pacific Ocean.<ref name=":0" /> This route was considered as a possible alternative to the Panama Canal at various times in the past.<ref name=":0" />
Surrounding the lakes and extending northwest of them along the rift valley to the Golfo de Fonseca are fertile lowland plains highly enriched with volcanic ash from nearby volcanoes.<ref name=":0" /> These lowlands are densely populated and well cultivated.<ref name=":0" /> The natural vegetation of the Pacific lowlands is dry forest, but much of it has been converted to agriculture or pasture. More directly west of the lake region is a narrow line of ash-covered hills and volcanoes that separate the lakes from the Pacific Ocean.<ref name=":0" /> This line is highest in the central portion near the cities of León and Managua.<ref name=":0" />
Because Western Nicaragua is located where two major tectonic plates collide, it is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.<ref name=":0" /> Although periodic volcanic eruptions have caused agricultural damage from fumes and ash, earthquakes have been by far more destructive to life and property.<ref name=":0" /> Hundreds of shocks occur each year, some of which cause severe damage.<ref name=":0" /> The capital city of Managua was virtually destroyed in 1931 and again in 1972.<ref name=":0" />
Central highlands
The triangular area known as the central highlands lies northeast and east of the Pacific lowlands.<ref name=":0" /> These rugged mountains are composed of ridges 900 to 1,800 meters high and a mixed forest of oak and pine alternating with deep valleys that drain primarily toward the Caribbean.<ref name=":0" /> Very few significant streams flow west to the Pacific Ocean.<ref name=":0" /> Those that do are steep, short, and flow intermittently.<ref name=":0" />
The relatively dry western slopes of the central highlands, protected by the ridges of the highlands from the moist winds of the Caribbean, have drawn farmers from the Pacific region since colonial times.<ref name=":0" /> The eastern slopes of the highlands are covered with montane rain forests and are lightly populated with pioneer agriculturalists and small communities of indigenous people.<ref name=":0" />
Caribbean lowlands
The eastern Caribbean lowlands of Nicaragua form the extensive (occupying more than 50 percent of national territory) and still sparsely settled lowland area known as the Costa de Mosquitos (Miskito Coast).<ref name=":0" /> The Caribbean lowlands are sometimes considered synonymous with the former department of Zelaya, which is now divided into the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (Región Autónoma de la Costa Caribe Norte, RACCN) and the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (Región Autónoma de la Costa Caribe Sur, RACCS) and constitutes about 45 percent of Nicaragua's territory.<ref name=":0" />
These lowlands are a hot, humid area that includes coastal plains, the eastern spurs of the central highlands, and the lower portion of the Río San Juan basin.<ref name=":0" /> The soil is generally leached and infertile.<ref name=":0" /> Pine and palm savannas predominate along the Caribbean coast as far south as the Laguna de Perlas.<ref name=":0" /> There are extensive areas of tropical rain forest, including the Isthmian–Atlantic moist forests extending southwards from the Laguna de Perlas past the Río San Juan into Costa Rica, and the Central American Atlantic moist forests lying between the savannas and the central highlands, and along rivers through the savannas.<ref name=":0" />
Fertile soils are found only along the natural levees and narrow floodplains of the numerous rivers, including the Escondido, the Río Grande de Matagalpa, the Prinzapolka, and the Coco, and along the many lesser streams that rise in the central highlands and cross the region en route to the complex of shallow bays, lagoons, and salt marshes of the Caribbean coast.<ref name=":0" />
Climate
Template:Further Temperature varies little with the seasons in Nicaragua and is largely a function of elevation.<ref name=":0" /> The tierra caliente, or "hot land", is characteristic of the foothills and lowlands from sea level to about Template:Convert of elevation.<ref name=":0" /> Here, daytime temperatures average Template:Convert, and night temperatures drop to Template:Convert most of the year.<ref name=":0" />
The tierra templada, or "temperate land", is characteristic of most of the central highlands, where elevations range between Template:Convert.<ref name=":0" /> Here, daytime temperatures are mild (Template:Convert), and nights are cool (Template:Convert).<ref name=":0" />
Tierra fria, the "cold land" at elevations above Template:Convert, is found only on and near the highest peaks of the central highlands.<ref name=":0" /> Daytime averages in this region are Template:Convert, with nighttime lows below Template:Convert.<ref name=":0" />
Rainfall
Rainfall varies greatly in Nicaragua.<ref name=":0" /> The Caribbean lowlands are the wettest section of Central America, receiving between Template:Convert of rain annually.<ref name=":0" /> The western slopes of the central highlands and the Pacific lowlands receive considerably less annual rainfall, being protected from moisture-laden Caribbean trade winds by the peaks of the central highlands.<ref name=":0" />
Mean annual precipitation for the rift valley and western slopes of the highlands ranges from Template:Convert.<ref name=":0" /> Rainfall is seasonal—May through October is the rainy season, and December through April is the driest period.<ref name=":0" />
During the rainy season, Eastern Nicaragua is subject to heavy flooding along the upper and middle reaches of all major rivers.<ref name=":0" /> Near the coast, where river courses widen and river banks and natural levees are low, floodwaters spill over onto the floodplains until large sections of the lowlands become continuous sheets of water.<ref name=":0" /> River bank agricultural plots are often heavily damaged, and considerable numbers of savanna animals die during these floods.<ref name=":0" />
The coast is also subject to destructive tropical storms and hurricanes, particularly from July through October.<ref name=":0" /> The high winds and floods, accompanying these storms often cause considerable destruction of property.<ref name=":0" /> In addition, heavy rains (called papagayo storms) accompanying the passage of a cold front or a low-pressure area may sweep from the north through both eastern and western Nicaragua (particularly the rift valley) from November through March.<ref name=":0" />
Hurricanes or heavy rains in the central highlands where agriculture has destroyed much of the natural vegetation also cause considerable crop damage and soil erosion.<ref name=":0" /> In 1988, Hurricane Joan forced hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans to flee their homes and caused more than US$1 billion in damage, most of it along the Caribbean coast.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Fox, Robert Nicaragua Still Reeling in Wake of a Hurricane Template:Webarchive accessed April 10, 2006</ref><ref>Preston, Julia, Washington Post (1988) Response Tepid to Managua's Aid Plea accessed April 10, 2006</ref> In November 2020, two major hurricanes: Eta and Iota, made landfall on the nation in nearly same locations in consecutive weeks, causing hundreds of deaths throughout the Caribbean region and causing millions of dollars in damage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Examples
Environment
Nicaragua is subject to destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes.<ref name=":1" /> It currently faces deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution. It is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, the Nuclear Test Ban, and the Ozone Layer Protection, and has signed but not ratified the Law of the Sea.<ref name=":1" />
Extreme points
- Northernmost point: North of Liwa Sirpe<ref name=":1" />
- Southernmost point: Trinidad, Río San Juan<ref name=":1" />
- Westernmost point: Pacific coast at Gulf of Fonseca, Chinandega Department<ref name=":1" />
- Easternmost point: Miskito Cays archipelago, North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region<ref name=":1" />
- Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m<ref name=":1" />
- Highest point: Mogotón 2,085 m<ref name=":1" />
Maritime claims
- Contiguous zone: Template:Convert<ref name=":1" />
- Territorial sea: Template:Convert<ref name=":1" />
- Exclusive economic zone: Template:Convert<ref name=":1" />
See also
- List of ecoregions in Nicaragua
- List of islands of Nicaragua
- List of rivers of Nicaragua
- List of volcanoes in Nicaragua
- Protected areas of Nicaragua
- Territorial disputes of Nicaragua
- Water resources management in Nicaragua
References
Template:Nicaragua topics Template:Geography of North America Template:North America topic