An essentially mountainous country
With a surface area of 108,899 km² - one-fifth that of France - Guatemala is the third-largest country in Central America, behind Nicaragua and Honduras. Located at the heart of the American continent, it lies to the extreme north-west of Mexico, making it the most northerly of the Central American countries. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the south, Belize, the Caribbean Sea, Honduras and El Salvador to the east, and Mexico to the north. The border between Guatemala and Mexico is marked by a succession of peaks, as defined in the Boundary Treaty signed in 1882.
One third of Guatemala is made up of the department of Petén, to the north. This is a vast expanse of forest-covered plains, essential to the country's agriculture. The country has two other coastal plains: the Pacific, to the south, and the Caribbean, to the east. The latter extends inland beyond Lake Izabal and around the Río Motagua. The Pacific coast offers a rich agricultural zone, with coffee and cocoa plantations, orchards and sugarcane fields. Livestock farming is also practiced here. When it reaches the ocean, this plain is covered with long beaches of volcanic sand, whose dark hues give a feeling of being at the end of the world.
Nevertheless, Guatemala's relief is above all mountainous: 82% of the territory is made up of slopes and highlands. This is due to the country's location at the southern end of North America's western mountain system. In fact, as it crosses all of America - via Mexico, at Tehuantepec - the Andes divide into two branches that extend into Guatemalan territory:
The Sierra Madre. This mountain range crosses the country from west to east in a southerly direction, parallel to the Pacific Ocean, for almost 280 kilometers. It passes through the high plateaus, essentially comprising the departments of San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Totonicapán, Sololá, Chimaltenango, Guatemala and Jalapa. Of crucial importance for nature, this is one of the regions that brings the most biodiversity to the country, notably through its cloud forests - which generally develop in tropical mountain environments, between 1,000 and 3,000 meters above sea level. The Sierra Madre is also home to the country's 37 volcanoes - a figure officially recognized by the Guatemalan Andean Federation - four of which are active, such as Pacaya (2,550 metres above sea level) and Fuego (3,763 metres above sea level), which can be hiked when conditions permit. Among the inactive volcanoes is Tajumulco, whose 4,220-metre altitude makes it the highest point in Central America - and the object of an unforgettable trek.
The sierra de los Cuchumatanes. Smaller than the Sierra Madre, it occupies only 15% of the national territory. However, it is the highest non-volcanic region in Central America, with La Torre as its peak - 3,837 meters above sea level. Rich in magnificent scenery, it passes through the beautiful villages of Huehuetenango department, central Quiché and Alta Verapaz. Although its climate - wet and cold - and the quality of its soils do not make it particularly suitable for cultivation, it is an interesting region, with an abundance of national parks in which to observe wildlife.
Three main geomorphological provinces
From a general geomorphological point of view, there are three main provinces in Guatemala. The first, volcanic, comprises the south of the country and forms part of the circumpacific band. The second province is the Pacific coastal plain, formed by the erosion of volcanic chains. The last is the Cordillera, which forms the northern core of Central America, made up of shales, granites and serpentines. It also includes a sedimentary belt to the north and the Petén lowlands, whose rocks are more than 10,000 metres thick in total.
Guatemala, a highly seismic country
Geological faults represent a large part of the territorial extension of Guatemala, and it is considered to have a strong daily seismic activity. Four tectonic plates are at the origin. First, the Motagua Fault, in the center of the country, which runs from the Sierra de las Minas to southeast Mexico and north Belize. Then there is the Chixoy-Polochic Fault, 80 kilometres south of the Motagua Fault in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes. Then there is the Jalpatagua fault, near El Salvador, and the Jocotán-Chamelecón fault, which connects Guatemala to Honduras.
The most tragic earthquakes occurred in 1773 - largely destroying the city of Antigua, in the department of Guatemala - and in 1917. With the latter, the earthquakes gradually intensified for two months, almost completely leveling Guatemala City and severely damaging the ruins of Antigua that had survived the 1773 disaster. There was also the terrible earthquake of 1976, with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale, which killed 23,000 people and injured over 75,000. More recently, there was the 2012 earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.3, and the 2017 earthquake, with a magnitude of 7. Despite their power, they were much less devastating than the previous ones: the death toll was around 100 for the first and 5 for the second.
An important hydrographic wealth
It would be a pity to limit Guatemala to its topography. This small country is rich in a variety of geographical features, including rivers, which are of considerable economic and biological importance. Tourist centers, reservoirs of drinking water and refuges for flora and fauna, they are also used for small-scale fishing, regional crops and irrigation. Rivers account for a large proportion of the country's hydrography, and several of their flows are of Central American importance, both in terms of length and ecosystem. They are divided into three slopes: the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific and the Atlantic - i.e. the Caribbean coast. Here are three of them:
Río Usumacinta. The largest hydrological network in Mesoamerica, it is Guatemala's most abundant river, with its watershed originating in the department of Quiché. It is also the second largest rainforest river after the Amazon. Its - main - specificity is that only 58% of its waters are in Guatemalan territory, since it flows across the border, with its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, as it passes through several ancient Mayan cities - such as Piedras Negras, in the Petén - the río Usumacinta is considered to be the river of this civilization.
Río Chixoy - or rió Negro. This is the main tributary of the Usumacinta river system. Characterized by its superb scenery and waters ideal for sports and activities such as tubing - particularly popular with tourists - it flows from west to east, from Quiché to Alta Verapaz, passing through the Baja Verapaz department.
Río Motagua - or Río Grande. It has the most extensive riverbed in Guatemala, crossing more than a dozen departments as far east as Izabal, near the border with Honduras. With a surface area of 12,719 km², it represents 8.5% of the country's territory, and is 480 kilometers long.
The lakes are not to be outdone. Five are particularly important, for their surface area, their beauty, the commercial activities they facilitate and the vital part of ecosystem development they represent. Here they are:
Lake Atitlán. Simply superb, it is considered one of Guatemala's must-see tourist attractions, as well as the country's only volcanic lake. This title is earned by its geographical location, encircled by the chain of Atitlán, Tolimán and San Pedro volcanoes in the department of Sololá.
Lake Amatitlán. Located in the Sierra Madre, it belongs to the municipality of the same name in the department of Guatemala. Famous for its aquatic procession on May 3 - El Día de Santa Cruz, a patronal festival dedicated to the Niño Jesús de Amatitlán - it is also one of the country's most important natural resources, generating almost 11% of its energy. With an area of 15.2 km², it is divided into two water formations connected by a small canal, built to ensure the passage of railroad lines.
Lake Izabal. This is the country's largest lake, with a surface area of 671.82 km². A tourist attraction in its own right, its eastern part is the Bocas del Polochic wildlife refuge, a site recognized as a wetland of international importance by the Ramsar List, the world's largest network of protected areas. Another point of interest is the mouth of the Río Dulce, which provides access to the Caribbean coast and is a great place to live.
Lake Petén Itzá. Considered Guatemala's second-largest lake, it is also - and above all - magical, surrounded by the Petén rainforest. You'll pass it on your way to the archaeological site of Tikal, when you stop in Flores, in its south-western part.
Golfete Dulce. This is the widest part of the Río Dulce National Park basin, in Livingston, Izabal. A natural paradise home to a wealth of wildlife and natural life, it attracts manatees and is the focus of various conservation initiatives, as well as encouraging the development of ecotourism. Its water hyacinths make it particularly photogenic.
