Central America

Central America (Spanish: América Central or Centroamérica) is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast.^[3][4] Central America is considered to be part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, excluding the southern portions of Panama.^[5]

Geography

Central America has an area of 524,000 square kilometers (202,000 sq mi), or almost 0.1% of the Earth's surface. As of 2009, its population was estimated at 41,739,000. It has a density of 77 people per square kilometer or 206 people per square mile.

Physical geography

Central America and the Caribbean Plate.

Physiographically, Central America is the tapering isthmus of southern North America, extending from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico southeastward to the Isthmus of Panama where it connects to the Colombian Pacific Lowlands in northwestern South America. Alternatively, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt delimits the region on the north. Central America has an area of some 592,000 square kilometres. The Pacific Ocean lies to the southwest, the Caribbean Sea lies to the northeast, and the Gulf of Mexico lies to the north. Most of Central America rests atop the Caribbean Plate.

The region is geologically active, with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time. In 1976 Guatemala was hit by a major earthquake, killing 23,000 people; Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, the last one killed about 5,000 people; three earthquakes devastated El Salvador, one in 1986 and two in 2001; one earthquake devastated northern and central Costa Rica in 2009 killing at least 34 people; in Honduras a powerful earthquake killed 7 people in 2009.

Volcanic eruptions are common in the region. In 1968 the Arenal Volcano, in Costa Rica, erupted and killed 87 people. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in the agriculturally productive highland areas.

Central America has many mountain ranges; the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Cordillera Isabelia and the Cordillera de Talamanca. Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the people; in fact most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala live in valleys. Valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans and other crops.

Biodiversity

Central America is part of the Mesoamerican Biodiversity hotspot. It has 7% of the world's biodiversity.^[6] As a bridge between North and South America, Central America has many species from the Nearctic and the Neotropic ecozones. However the southern countries (Costa Rica and Panama) of the region have more biodiversity than the northern countries (Guatemala and Belize), meanwhile the central countries (Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador) have least biodiversity.^[6] The table shows current statistics for the seven countries:

Country	Amphibians	Birds	Mammals	Reptiles	Wildlife diversity	Vascular Plants	Biodiversity
Belize	46[7]	544[7]	147[7]	140[7]	877[7]	2894[7]	3771[7]
Costa Rica	183[8]	838[8]	232[8]	258[8]	1511[8]	12119[8]	13630[8]
El Salvador	30[9]	434[9]	137[9]	106[9]	707[9]	2911[9]	3618[9]
Guatemala	133[10]	684[10]	193[10]	236[10]	1246[10]	8681[10]	9927[10]
Honduras	101[11]	699[11]	201[11]	213[11]	1214[11]	5680[11]	6894[11]
Nicaragua	61[12]	632[12]	181[12]	178[12]	1052[12]	7590[12]	8642[12]
Panama	182[13]	904[13]	241[13]	242[13]	1569[13]	9915[13]	11484[13]

Human geography

Geopolitically, Central America has traditionally consisted of the following countries:

Nations of Central America and capitals.

Name of territory, with flag	Area (km²)[1]	Population (July 2009 est.)	Population density (per km²)	Capital	Official language
Belize	&000000000002296600000022,966	&0000000000307000000000307,000	&000000000000001300000013	Belmopan	English
Costa Rica	&000000000005110000000051,100	&00000000045790000000004,579,000	&000000000000009000000090	San José	Spanish
El Salvador	&000000000002104000000021,040	&00000000061630000000006,163,000	&0000000000000292000000292	San Salvador	Spanish
Guatemala	&0000000000108890000000108,890	&000000001402700000000014,027,000	&0000000000000129000000129	Guatemala City	Spanish
Honduras	&0000000000112090000000112,090	&00000000074660000000007,466,000	&000000000000006700000067	Tegucigalpa	Spanish
Nicaragua	&0000000000130373000000130,373	&00000000057430000000005,743,000	&000000000000004400000044	Managua	Spanish
Panama	&000000000007820000000078,200	&00000000034540000000003,454,000	&000000000000004400000044	Panama City	Spanish
Total	&0000000000523780000000523,780	&000000004173900000000041,739,000	&000000000000008000000080

Central America emerged as a distinct political entity upon the independence of the Federal Republic of Central America from Spain in 1821. This federation contained most of the states now considered part of Central America, however it did not include what is now Belize and Panama.

Belize was contested between the Spanish Empire and the British Empire, a dispute that continued after the independence of Guatemala, who considered Belize to be a Guatemalan department. It was declared a British colony and given the name British Honduras in 1871, gaining independence as Belize in 1981.

Panama, situated in the very south of Central America on the Isthmus of Panama. For much of its history, Panama was culturally linked to South America. Panama was a part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Granada, and then, following independence, became part of Gran Colombia. Only after independence from Colombia in 1903 did some begin to regard Panama as a North or Central American entity.

History

Political Evolution of Central America and the Caribbean from 1700 to present

In pre-Columbian times, the north-western areas of modern Central America were part of the Mesoamerican civilization. The Native American societies of Mesoamerica occupied the land ranging from central Mexico in the north to Costa Rica in the south. Most notable among these were the Maya, who had built numerous cities throughout the region, and the Aztecs, who created a vast empire. The pre-Columbian cultures of Panama traded with both Mesoamerica and South America, and can be considered transitional between those two cultural areas.

Map of the Republic of Central America

Following Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas for Spain, the Spanish sent numerous expeditions to the region, and they began their conquest of Maya lands in the 1520s. In 1540, Spain established the Captaincy General of Guatemala, which extended from southern Mexico to Costa Rica, and thus encompassed most of what is currently known as Central America, with the exception of British Honduras (present-day Belize). This lasted nearly three centuries, until a rebellion (which followed closely on the heels of the Mexican War of Independence) in 1821.

After the dissolution of Spanish authority, the former Captaincy General remained intact as part of the short-lived First Mexican Empire, then turned into the Federal Republic of Central America, which was a representative democracy with its capital at Guatemala City. This union consisted of the present day nations of Guatemala (which included the former state of Los Altos), El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica (which included a region which is now part of Panama, and the Guanacaste Province which was once part of Nicaragua), and Soconusco, a portion of the modern Mexican state of Chiapas. The Republic lasted from 1823 to 1838, when it began to disintegrate due to civil wars.

Central American integration

Sistema de Integración Centroamericana
Central American Integration System

Motto: «Peace, Development, Liberty and Democracy»
Anthem: La Granadera

Area	560,988 km²
Population	50,807,778 hab.
Countries	Belize  Costa Rica  Guatemala  Honduras  Nicaragua  Panama  El Salvador  Dominican Republic

Countries part of the SICA

Central America is going through a process of political, economic and cultural transformation that started in 1907 with the creation of the Central American Court of Justice. In 1951 the integration process continued with the signature of the San Salvador Treaty that created the ODECA, the Organization of Central American States. Unfortunately, the ODECA was not completely successful due to internal conflicts between several states of the region.

It was until 1991 that the integration agenda was completed with the creation of the SICA, Sistema para la Integración Centroamericana or System for the Central American Integration. The SICA provided a clear legal base to avoid discrepancies between the member states. The SICA membership includes the 7 nations of Central America plus the Dominican Republic, a state that is part of the Caribbean.

On December 6, 2008 SICA announced an agreement to pursue a common currency and common passport for the member nations. No timeline for implementation was discussed.

Central America already has several supranational institutions such as the Central American Parliament, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the Central American Common Market.

Foreign relations

Until recently, all Central American countries have maintained diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) instead of the People's Republic of China.^[14] President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, however, established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 2007, severing formal diplomatic ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Usage

"Central America" may mean different things to different people in the world according to the context:

• In English speaking countries, Central America is considered a region of the North American continent.^[15] Geopolitically, it usually comprises seven countries – Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.^[16] Mexico, in whole or in part, is sometimes included.^[17] Some geographers include the five states of Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán,^[16] together representing 12.1% of the country's total area.
• In Latin America, Iberia, and some other parts of Europe, the Americas are considered to be a single continent, and Central America is considered a region of this continent. In Ibero-America, the region is defined as seven nations – Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama – and may occasionally include Mexico's southernmost region.^[18] Geopolitically, Mexico is considered part of North America.^[19]
• Occasionally, the term Central America is used synonymously with Middle America.^[20] Among some German geographers, Mittelamerika may be used to refer to the territories on the Central American isthmus.^[20]
• In German, Zentralamerika may be used to refer to the territories on the Central American isthmus.
• The UN geoscheme defines the region as all states of mainland North America south of the United States; conversely, the European Union excludes Belize and Mexico from its definition of the region.^[21][22]

See also

• Americas (terminology)

References

External links

• Central America Online Discussion Forum and Community
• Photos of Central America
• LANIC Central America country pages

Central America Sovereign states Belize · Costa Rica · El Salvador · Guatemala · Honduras · Nicaragua · Panama

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