The Guatemalan Highlands is an upland region in southern

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 ...

which lies between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south and the Petén lowlands to the north.

Geographic description

The Highlands lie between 6360 ft and 13780 ft and are made up of a series of high valleys enclosed by mountains. There are volcanoes which are both active and extinct. The local name for the region is ''Altos,'' meaning "highlands." The relief of the mountainous country which is north of the Highlands and drains into the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

is varied by terraces, ridges, and underfalls. Its general configuration is compared by E. Reclus to the appearance of "a stormy sea breaking into parallel billows".''Universal Geography'', ed. E. G. Ravenstein, div. xxxiii., p. 212 A range called the Sierra de Chamá travels eastward towards

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 is connected by low hills with the Cockscomb Mountains. The Sierra de Santa Cruz, a similar range, continues east to Cape Cocoli between the Polochic and the Sarstoon rivers. A third, the Sierra de las Minas, or its eastern portion, Sierra del Mico, stretches between the Polochic and the Motagua rivers. Between

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, ...

and Guatemala, the frontier is formed by the Sierra de Merendón. A few of the streams of 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 ...

slope actually rise in the highlands pushing through the Sierra Madre at the bottom of deep ravines. A large river, the Chixoy or Salinas River, flows northwards towards 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 ...

. In addition to the streams which break through to the Pacific, a number of larger streams which drain to the Gulf of Mexico or 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 ...

have their sources in the highlands. The Motagua River, whose principal head stream is called the Rio Grande, has a course of about , and is navigable to within of

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 ...

which is situated on one of its confluents, the Rio de las Vacas. It empties in the Gulf of Honduras, an arm of the Caribbean. Of similar importance is the Polochic River, which is about in length, and navigable about above the river-port of Telemán. A vast number of streams, among which are the Chixoy, Lacantún, and Ixcán, unite to form the Usumacinta River, which passes along the Mexican frontier, and flows on through

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 ...

and

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

into the Bay of Campeche. The Grijalva and its tributaries the Cuilco and San Miguel rivers drain west into the Chiapas Depression and from there into the Gulf of Mexico. Lake Atitlan is a land-locked basin encompassed with lofty mountains. About south of Guatemala City lies Lake Amatitlán and the town of Amatitlán.

Climate

The Highlands have a more

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

compared to the surrounding lowlands and Pacific coastal plains. Their annual temperatures fall between 15° and 25°C. In this climate, there are typically pronounced rainy and dry seasons. The rainy season lasts from May to November, with the heaviest rainfall happening in June and October.

The Maya in the Highlands

One of the prevalent groups which has been present in the Guatemalan Highlands is the

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writin ...

. They rose to importance around A.D. 250 and then declined beginning around A.D. 850.

Farming and Agriculture

The Guatemalan Highlands were a significant source of raw materials for the Maya society; farming and agriculture dominated the region. The highlands provided the Maya with various minerals which were culturally important including jade and serpentine. In addition to these minerals, fertile landscapes were created by large amounts of rainfall during the rainy season of the Guatemalan Highlands(May-December). Canals were built and maintained to use a raised field system of agriculture that took advantage of the ecology of the landscape. Households grew their food in open areas and the surplus of these agricultural products was traded in community markets. In the Highlands, various fruits, vegetables, flowers, and coffee were traded throughout the Maya society. The Maya had maize fields that were called milpas, which grew different types of maize in addition to squashes, beans, and

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

. The lowlands are often considered the center of the Maya society, but it is important to recognize that the Guatemalan Highlands also provided a vital source of agricultural products sustaining the Mayan population.

Cultural significance

An important Pre-Maya site located in the Highlands is Kaminaljuyu. It was a huge settlement, complete with big structures, organization, and cities. The Highlands were significant to the Maya for a variety of reasons. First, at one point, there was only one Mayan language, Proto-Mayan, which likely originated in the Highlands. Over time, various dialects of the language separated spreading across the rest of the Maya area. They were also significant because of their large lakes, or more specifically, the

Maya cave sites Mayan cave sites are associated with the Mayan civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Beliefs and observances connected with these cave sites persist among some contemporary Mayan communities. Many of the Mayan caves served religious purposes. ...

near these lakes, which sometimes were ritual pilgrimage places for the Maya. The lakes were popular sites to live by, as they made water more accessible to the Maya. Many birds were trapped by the Maya for their feathers in the Highlands. These feathers were traded and used in headdresses, crests, and capes, as well as to decorate shields, spears, scepters, canopies, fans, and clothing, as they were a sign of elite status.

External links

Map of Guatemala, including principal rivers

References

---- {{EB1911 , wstitle=Guatemala , volume=12 , pages=661–664 Regions of the Americas Geography of Guatemala Geography of Mesoamerica Highlands