Important Geographic Features of Central America

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Locate Central America on a World Map

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Central America is the region connecting North and South America, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east.

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Landforms in Central America

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Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a major mountain range in Central America.

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Active Volcanoes in Central America

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Central America is home to several active volcanoes due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

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Bodies of Water in Central America

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The Caribbean Sea, Pacific Ocean, and Lake Nicaragua are significant bodies of water in Central America.

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Major Cities in Central America

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Panama City and San José are major urban centers in Central America.

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Central America’s history is deeply tied to?

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Spanish colonization in the 16th century.

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• Spaniards arrived in Central America in the early 1500s. Later that century, the Spanish set up colonies in Central America. The British also set up a colony in Belize in the 1630s. 

  • The Spanish colonization eliminated large numbers of Native Americans in Central America due to a combination of weapons (matchlock muskets) and disease. 

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• The populations that remained were a combination of Peninsulares (men and women from the Iberian Peninsula), Native Americans who often married the Peninsulares (Mestizos), Creoles—people of European descent who were born in the Americas, and African slaves brought over to work on the plantations.

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Africans working in Latin America blended their culture with those of the French and Spanish

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• resulting in a Creole language and culture in the Caribbean.

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In the 1820s, Central America gained independence from?

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Spain

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• Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica formed the United Provinces of Central America. 

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• In 1840, these provinces were divided into five separate nations.