(cid:59)(cid:75)(cid:72)r(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:45)(cid:86)(cid:3)Nicaragua(cid:35) Managua Caribbean Sea Lake Managua Lake Nicaragua Pacific Ocean Honduras Costa Rica Nicaragua N E W S 4 4
Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America It lies in the middle of the strip of land that connects North and South America Nicaragua shares a long border with Honduras to the north To the south is Costa Rica Central America stretches between two oceans The turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea bathe Nicaragua’s eastern shores Its western coast dips into the vast Pacific Ocean Slightly inland from the Pacific coast are several large freshwater lakes The country’s capital and largest city Managua stands on the southern shore of Lake Managua 5
(cid:56)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:48)a(cid:81)(cid:71) (cid:35) Mountains cover much of west-central Nicaragua The land reaches its highest point at Mogotón Peak along the border with Honduras Between the central mountains and the western coast lies Lake Nicaragua This great lake is the largest in Central America To its northwest is Lake Managua A chain of volcanoes cuts through the lakes Their smoking cones rise out of the lowlands that stretch to the western shore (cid:40)i(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:92)(cid:82)u(cid:3)(cid:78)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:35) Sometimes rotating storms called hurricanes hit Nicaragua’s coast Hurricane Mitch was one of the most destructive It hit in 1998 6
The plains east of the mountains are carpeted with rain forests Rivers from the mountains wind through the forests on their way to the Caribbean Sea Beaches dot the Caribbean coast The eastern shoreline is fringed with small islands and coral reefs Nicaragua is warm year-round The weather in the mountains is cooler Most of the country’s rain falls east of the mountains 7 7
