Travel Guide

Background Facts: Guatemala

The Mayan civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821.

During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had left more than 100,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, some 1 million refugees.

Location	Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize
Geographic Coordinates	15 30 N, 90 15 W
Geographical Area
Land	108,430 Sq Km.
Water	460 Sq Km.
Land Boundary	1,687 Km.
Border Countries
Belize	266 Km.
El Salvador	203 Km.
Honduras	256 Km.
Mexico	962 Km.
Length of coastline	400 Km.
Terrain	Mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau
Elevation Extremes
Lowest Point	Pacific Ocean 0m
Highest Point	Volcan Tajumulco 4,211m
Natural Resources	Petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower
Land Use
Arable Land	13%
Permanent Crops	6%
Other	81%
Irrigated Land	1,300 Sq Km.
Natural Hazards	Numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms
Environmental Issues	Deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution