Consists of 7 countries Belize Guatemala El Salvador Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama In the 1800s Central America was all a part of Mexico Spanish Guatemala Honduras El Salvador Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama HFT2716 Exam 2 Study Guide Central America Languages English Belize Backgrounds British Belize Honduras Spain Costa Rica Belize previously known as the British Honduras till 1973 established in 1638 declared independence in 1981 British were the first Europeans to settle in the area Guatemala has always claimed Belize as their territory Belize City was the previous capital which was destroyed by a tidal wave Belmopan new capital city 180 miles by 60 miles very small country Less than half a million in population lower cost of living is attracting many American retirees Attractions 2nd longest barrier reef in the world scuba diving destination Sand Pedro the most important access point for dive sites over 900 Mayan sites two largest cayes ridges are Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary in Northern Belize Central Americas largest cave system Chinquibul Caves Western Belize archipelago of more than 200 isles along the coast head of the sun god carved in Jade is the national symbol Found in the Mayan archeological site Altun Ha which has been extensively excavated for tourism Northern Belize San Ignacio is Western Belize s center and base for exploration of the savanna Western Belize largest Mayan site Caracol Dangriga is the largest town in Southern Belize inhabitants are descendants of Black Caribs who fled Honduras after failed revolt Garifuna Settlement Day festival Southern Belize Rainy season June to February Guatemala political turmoil internal warfare has plagued the country for decades Independence declared in 1821 old capital Antigua was destroyed by a volcanic mudslide current capital and largest city Guatemala City coastline in the Pacific ocean shares borders with Honduras El Salvador Mexico and Belize Attractions Lake Atitlan a mile high lake A deep blue caldera surrounded by three volcanoes and twelve Indian villages Tikal greatest Mayan city is near the border with Belize El Salvador smallest geographical country and highest density population politically unstable Gorilla gangs developed here due to the lack of education and job training only has a coastline along the pacific ocean San Salvador capital city Honduras principle export bananas 1998 destroyed by Hurricane Mitch lies between Nicaragua Guatemala and El Salvador Tegucigalpa is the capital most of the territory is covered by mountains The Mosquito Coast located in the northeast mostly uninhabited name comes from the Miskito Indians Attractions El Copan are Mayan ruins near the border with Guatemala Roatan is the most developed extension island of the barrier reef is a resort location Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega controlled by a socialist group known as Sandinista formed a triple alliance with Venezuela Cuba Somosa family controlled Nicaragua in the early 20th century was overthrown by the Sandinista movement inexpensive to travel to sustainable ecotourism largely developing Lago de Nicaragua and Rio Grande de Matagalpa used to be a part of the pacific ocean and now are freshwater lakes sharks can be found here Managua largest city and the capital city largest but most sparsely populated country in the region Costa Rica model democratic system elections every four years 97 literacy rate highest levels of education stable and peaceful nation most of the population lives in the central part of the country San Jose the capital city founded in 1737 highest percentage of European inhabitants mainly Spaniards inhabitants of Costa Rice are referred to as Ticos does NOT have an army or military force money goes into education medical infrastructure etc Caribbean coastline tropical Pacific coastline dry climate surfing and sport fishing land of volcanoes 120 in total Attractions Nicoya Peninsula mini Cancun resort area Liberia principal town 1970s ecotourism began backbone of the economy one of the most impressive National Park systems in the world 25 of its territory is protected 5 biodiversity of the World Volcan Poas the most visited park fumaroles gyres Moteverde Cloud Forest Preserve Tortuaguero National Park an important nesting site for turtles and other inhabitant species Puntarenas is the principal Pacific port surfers Puerto Caldera to the south is where most cruise liners come to Medical tourism expanding considerably advanced for central America and inexpensive Coffee trees surround the city of San Jose volcanic derived soil Butterfly farms coffee plantations oxcart factories carretas Panama belonged to Gran Colombia Colombia Venezuela Ecuador till the late 1800s Panama City capital city entry city in the Pacific Colon entry city in the Caribbean Panama Canal was built in 1914 by the same architect who built the Suez canal Ferdinand Lesseps called the big ditch thousands of workers died of malaria and yellow fever the French originally started building the canal with Columbia but President Roosevelt and the United States finished it with Panama beginning In 1904 after they declared their independence from Colombia in 1903 cost of 352 million to build US controlled the canal and its administration till 1999 Canal generates 2 billion in usage fees per year Caribbean Sea is to the North and the Pacific to the South built across the narrowest point between the Atlantic and the Pacific extends 51 miles and on average takes a ship 8 to 10 hours to cross known as the crossroads of the world Pan American highway built by the Spaniards stops in Panama City and then resumes in Colombia Darien gap links central and South America the only break in the Pan American highway Ecotourism 1 3 of the country is tropical rain forest much of it protected by the government many rivers and more than 1 600 islands San Blas islands Panama s largest archipelago often visited by cruise ships Cuna Indians live on the islands self governing and live according to ancient ways speak their own language in addition to Spanish more than 940 recorded bird species Medical archeological tourism expanding Soberania National Park borders the Panama Canal 1 destination to retire in the world 2nd largest duty free trade zone in the world an area designated for countries to build assemble products and not pay taxes 3 5 million people Natural disasters and political instability keep investors and tourists
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