NICARAGUA
Nicaragua is the largest of the Central American countries and occupies an area of 46,000 square miles making it approximately the size of Pennsylvania. Its population of 3.1 million contrasts with that of Pennsylvania's 12 million. This small nation lies midway between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer, and thus has a tropical climate.
The country is divided geologically (as well as politically and culturally) into two sections: the Atlantic and Pacific coastal areas. These are separated by the range of mountains that extends from the U.S. Rockies through Mexico and Central America to the Andes of South America. The continuity of this range is broken in Nicaragua by Lakes Managua and Nicaragua which lie in the southwestern corner of the country. This is a geologically unstable area and the people living in it are subjected to frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. The tallest of the mountains, Cerro Mocotón, rises 6900 feet above sea level. The volcanoes played an important role in the U.S government's choice of Panama rather than Nicaragua for the site of a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
As you drive through the countryside in the outskirts of León, which lies to the West of the mountain range, one might see smoke and/or steam rising from scattered sites on the hillsides; these are volcanic vents spewing forth steam, hydrogen sulfide and other gasses.
To the west of Leňn are the beaches along the Pacific Ocean.
The western section of Nicaragua along the Pacific Ocean is the more densely populated area and the site of the larger cities: Managua (the capital), León, Granada, Masaya and Chinandega. The country's few industries are congregated in this area and many empty their waste into Lake Managua. At one time this lake was a beautiful site with abundant water- life, but now it has been severely polluted and fish can no longer survive in it.
To the east of the mountain range lie rain forests which extend to the Caribbean Sea. The inhabitants of this Atlantic coastal section, the so called Mosquito Coast, have a history and a culture very different from Nicaraguans who populate the western section of the country.
León is a university town located in an agricultural region of the counntry that produces cotton, basic grains, fruits, vegetables and beef cattle.
The square in the center of León with the cathedral in the distance.
Leňn's recorded history goes back to the early 16th century, when conquistadors claimed Nicaragua for Spain. León was one of the first cities the invaders founded and its first seat of government. It is home to one of the best universities in Central America and the site of one of the oldest and grandest cathedrals in all of South America. León, a growing city of more than 175,000, is the cultural center of Nicaragua and has produced internationally recognized masters of literature and music.
This website was updated last in June 3, 2007.