}

Guatemala is mountainous, except for the south coastal area and the vast northern lowlands of
Petén department. The country is located in
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
and bounded to the north and west by
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, to the east by
Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
and by the
Gulf of Honduras
The Gulf of Honduras or the Bay of Honduras is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. From north to south, it runs for approximately 200 km (125 miles) from Dangriga, Belize, to La Cei ...
, to the east by
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, to the southeast by
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
, and to the south by the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. Two mountain chains enter
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
from west to east, dividing the country into three major regions: the
highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Africa
* Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa
* Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...
, where the mountains are located; the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
coast, south of the mountains; and the limestone plateau of the
Petén region, north of the mountains. These areas vary in climate, elevation, and landscape, providing dramatic contrasts between hot and humid tropical lowlands and highland peaks and valleys.
Regions
The southern edge of the
western highlands is marked by the
Sierra Madre, which stretches from the
Mexican border
Mexico shares international borders with three nations:
*To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas.
*To the sou ...
south and east, and continues at lower elevations toward
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
. The mountain chain is characterised by steep volcanic cones, including
Tajumulco Volcano , the highest point in the country and
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
. All of
Guatemala's 37 volcanoes (3 of them active:
Pacaya
Pacaya is an active complex volcano in Guatemala, which first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago and has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. It rises to an elevation of . After being dormant for over 70 y ...
,
Santiaguito and
Fuego), are in this mountain chain, and are abundant in the highlands.
The northern chain of mountains begins near the Mexican border with the
Cuchumatanes
The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, in western Guatemala, is the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America.
Etymology
The name "Cuchumatán" is derived from the Mam language, Mam words ''cuchuj'' (to join or unite) and ''matán'' (with ...
range, then stretches east through the
Chuacús and Chamá sierras, down to the
Santa Cruz and
Minas
Minas or MINAS may refer to:
People with the given name Minas
* Menas of Ethiopia (died 1563)
* Saint Menas (Minas, 285–309)
* Minias of Florence (Minas, Miniato, died 250)
* Minas Alozidis (born 1984), Greek hurdler
* Minas Avetisyan (192 ...
sierras, near the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
. The northern and southern mountains are separated by the Motagua valley, where the
Motagua river
The Motagua River () is a river in Guatemala. It rises in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The Motagua River basin covers an area of and is the largest in Guatemala.
The Motagua Riv ...
and its tributaries drains from the highlands into the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
being navigable in its lower end, where it forms the boundary with
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
.
The rivers are short and shallow in the Pacific vertient, larger and deeper, such as the
Polochic which drains in
Lake Izabal
Lake Izabal (), also known as the Golfo Dulce, is the largest lake in Guatemala with a surface area of and a maximum depth of . The Polochic River is the largest river that drains into the lake. The lake, which is only a metre above sea level, ...
,
Río Dulce,
Motagua
The Motagua River () is a river in Guatemala. It rises in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The Motagua River basin covers an area of and is the largest in Guatemala.
The Motagua Rive ...
and
Sarstún that forms the boundary with
Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
in the Caribbean and the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
vertient (
Usumacinta
The Usumacinta River (; named after the howler monkey) is a river in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. It is formed by the junction of the Pasión River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz (in Guatemala) and the Salinas R ...
, which forms the boundary between
Chiapas
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and Petén and its tributaries such as
La Pasión and
San Pedro.
Most of the major cities are located in the Highlands. Major cities are the capital
Guatemala City
Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
, elevation 1,500 m (
Central Highlands),
Antigua Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the Guatemalan Highlands, central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque- ...
, elevation 1,530 m (
Central Highlands),
Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is a municipality and namesake department in western Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may reach above ...
elevation 2,350 m (
Western Highlands) and
Puerto Barrios
Puerto Barrios () is a city in Guatemala, located within the Gulf of Honduras. The city is located on Bahia de Amatique. Puerto Barrios is the departmental seat of Izabal department and is the administrative seat of Puerto Barrios municipality. ...
on the Caribbean coast. The largest lake
Lago de Izabal
Lake Izabal (), also known as the Golfo Dulce, is the largest lake in Guatemala with a surface area of and a maximum depth of . The Polochic River is the largest river that drains into the lake. The lake, which is only a metre above sea level, d ...
(589.6 km
2), is close to the Caribbean coast.
Volcán Tajumulco
Volcán Tajumulco is a large stratovolcano in the department of San Marcos in western Guatemala. It is the highest mountain in Central America at . It is part of the mountain range of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, which begins in Mexico's southe ...
, 4,220 m, the highest point in Central America, is located in the western department of
San Marcos.
The last
major earthquake was on February 4, 1976, killing more than 23,000 in the Central Highlands.
Climate
Climate is hot and humid in the Pacific and
Petén Lowlands. It is more temperate in the highlands, to freezing cold at the high of the Cuchumatanes range, and hot/drier in the easternmost departments.
Guatemala's location on the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean makes it a target for
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
s, including
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was an extremely deadly and catastrophic Atlantic hurricane, which became the second-deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record. Mitch caused 11,374 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately ...
in 1998 and
Hurricane Stan
Hurricane Stan was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. A relatively weak system that affected areas of Central America and Mexico in early October 2005, Stan was the eighteenth named storm and eleventh hurric ...
in October 2005, which killed more than 1,500 people. The damage was not wind related, but caused by flooding and landslides.
Climate change
Geographic data
;
; Geographic coordinates:
:
; Map references:
: Central America and the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
; Area:
:* Total: 108,889 km
2
:* Land: 107,159 km
2
; Land boundaries:
:* Total: 1,667 km
:* Border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 199 km, Honduras 244 km, Mexico 958 km
; Coastline:
: 400 km
; Maritime claims:
:* Territorial sea:
:*
Exclusive economic zone
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
: and
:* Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
; Extreme points
:* Northernmost point – border with
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Petén Department
Petén (from the Itza' language, Itz'a, , 'Great Island') is a Departments of Guatemala, department of Guatemala. It is geographically the northernmost department of Guatemala, as well as the largest by area at it accounts for about one third o ...
:* Southernmost point – border with
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
, near
Garita Chapina,
Jutiapa Department
Jutiapa Department is a Departments of Guatemala, department of Guatemala that borders along El Salvador and the Pacific Ocean. The capital is the city of Jutiapa. As of 2018, it has a population of 488,395. The department is divided into seven ...
:* Westernmost point – border with
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
on
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
coast,
San Marcos Department
San Marcos is a department in southwestern Guatemala, on the Pacific Ocean and along the western Guatemala-Mexico border.
The department's capital is the city of San Marcos.
History
Colonial period
The Spanish conquest of Guatemalan Highl ...
:* Easternmost point – border with
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
,
Izabal Department
Izabal () is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. Its coastal areas form part of the homeland of the Garifuna people.
Izabal is bordered to the north by Belize, to the northeast by the Gulf of Honduras, to the east by Honduras, and by th ...
:* Lowest point –
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
and
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
: 0 m
:* Highest point –
Volcán Tajumulco
Volcán Tajumulco is a large stratovolcano in the department of San Marcos in western Guatemala. It is the highest mountain in Central America at . It is part of the mountain range of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, which begins in Mexico's southe ...
: 4,220 m
; Natural resources:
:
Petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...
,
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
, rare woods,
fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
,
chicle
Chicle () is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the genus '' Manilkara'', including '' M. zapota'', '' M. chicle'', '' M. staminodella'', and ...
,
hydropower
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
; Land use:
:* Arable land: 14.32%
:* Permanent crops: 8.82%
:* Other: 76.87% (2012 est.)
; Irrigated land:
: 3,121 km
2 (2003)
; Total renewable water resources:
: 111.3 km
3 (2011)
; Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
:* total: 3.46 km
3/yr (15%/31%/54%)
:* per capita: 259.1 m
3/yr (2006)
; Natural hazards:
: Several active
volcanoes
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...
, occasional violent
earthquakes
An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they c ...
; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms, causing flooding, mudflows and landslides
; Environment—current issues:
:
Deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...
;
soil erosion
Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the Topsoil, upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, Atmosphere of Ea ...
; water pollution
; Environment—international agreements:
:* Party to:
Antarctic Treaty
The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole.
The Antarctic comprises the continent of A ...
,
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
,
Climate Change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occ ...
,
Desertification
Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities.
The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...
,
Endangered Species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
,
Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes
Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is toxic, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is corrosive, among other traits. As of 2022, humani ...
,
Law of the Sea
Law of the sea (or ocean law) is a body of international law governing the rights and duties of State (polity), states in Ocean, maritime environments. It concerns matters such as navigational rights, sea mineral claims, and coastal waters juris ...
,
Marine Dumping,
Nuclear Test Ban
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nati ...
,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution (
MARPOL 73/78
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978, or "MARPOL 73/78" (short for "marine pollution") is one of the most important international marine environmental conventions. It ...
),
Wetlands
A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
:* Signed, but not ratified:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol
; Geography—note:
: No natural harbors on west coast
See also
*
Biodiversity of Guatemala
*
List of earthquakes in Guatemala
Earthquakes are relatively frequent occurrences in Guatemala. The country lies in a major fault zone known as the Motagua and Chixoy-Polochic fault complex, which cuts across Guatemala and forms the tectonic boundary between the Caribbean pla ...
*
List of national parks of Guatemala
National parks in Guatemala include:
National parks
See also
* Biosphere reserves of Guatemala
References
{{Guatemala topics
Guatemala
*
National parks
National parks
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (et ...
*
List of places in Guatemala
This is a list of places in Guatemala.
List of most populous cities in Guatemala
Population data up to number 30 is based on the 2018 census.
Ancient cities and important ruins
* Cancuén
* Dos Pilas
* El Baul
* Iximche
* Kami ...
*
List of rivers of Guatemala
This is a list of rivers in Guatemala arranged by drainage basin. This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under their larger stream's name.
Gulf of Mexico
The following rivers flow into the Grijalva River i ...
*
List of volcanoes in Guatemala
This is a list of active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes in Guatemala.
Volcanoes
See also
* Central America Volcanic Arc
* List of volcanoes in El Salvador
* List of volcanoes in Honduras
* List of volcanoes in Mexico
Footnotes
Re ...
*
Water resources management in Guatemala
Guatemala faces substantial resource and institutional challenges in successfully managing its national water resources. Deforestation is increasing as the global demand for timber exerts pressure on the forests of Guatemala. Soil erosion, runo ...
References
{{North America topic, Climate of