Central America

by Lucy B.

The countries of Central America include Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama. Mexico borders the southwestern United States and is a relatively large country. Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras are all a part of the Northern Triangle. While all three countries in the Northern Triangle have many positives, such as natural beauty, they also suffer from problems such as gang violence, lack of good jobs, drug use, and natural disasters like hurricanes and volcanoes. El Salvador only borders the Pacific ocean. In the above image, it appears that Belize is part of the Northern Triangle, but it is not. In Belize is the huge Belize Barrier Reef, Belize Blue Hole, and pretty Caribbean shorelines. The only ocean that Belize borders is the Caribbean Sea. Near the center of Nicaragua, there is a large, circle-shaped lake, Lago de Nicaragua. A large portion of Costa Rica is protected jungle, helping to support the country's biodiversity. The Panama Canal, in Panama, is a roughly 50-mile man-made river that allows boats to reach the Caribbean Sea from the Pacific ocean and vise versa without having to sail all the way around South America.

Now that you have read this paragraph, I suggest you click on Honduras in the image above.