World Regional Geology

1975 Edition

Nicaragua

  • Rhodes W. Fairbridge
Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31081-1_82
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With an area of 130,000 km2 (50,193 sq mi), Nicaragua is the largest Central American republic. Nicaragua adjoins Honduras on the north and Costa Rica on the south, with its western coastline along the Pacific Ocean and its eastern coastline along the Atlantic. The eastern coastal area is low, hot, and swampy where the annual rainfall sometimes reaches 760 cm (300 in.). The central region is a plateau with dense forests and roiling hills cut by rivers. About 300 cm (120 in.) of rain falls here annually. The western region is mountainous with many lakes where the temperatures are moderate, ranging from 4.1 to 35°C with about 150 cm of rainfall during the wet season from May to December. The principal river is the Rio Coco (Segovia), which is common also to Honduras.

The Cordillera range of mountains runs northwest to southeast through the center of Nicaragua. Between these mountains and a range of volcanic peaks to the west, lie Lake Managua and the 160–km (100–mile)-long Lake...
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References

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Copyright information

© Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc. 1975

Authors and Affiliations

  • Rhodes W. Fairbridge

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