Central American Landscapes Belize and the Peten Crystalline Highlands Volcanic Highlands The Mosquitia Coast Nicaraguan Depression and Pacific Lowlands Talamanca and Pacific Peninsulas Canal Zone and Darien

Red line = our path of slide and Google Earth investigation Hopkins Red line = our path of slide and Google Earth investigation

A cay in Belize’s barrier reef

Outhouse at Hopkins, a Garifuna village on Belizean coast. Coconut palm being blown by which wind? Young Garifuna boy Esposa Men’s room

Coconut palms My accommodations in Hopkins, a Garifuna village on Belizean coast

Coconut palms Dog Gringo graduate student trying to pass as a Garifuna

Typical beach scene in Hopkins Typical beach scene in Hopkins. The Garifuna call dugout canoes “dories”. Made out of caoba/mahogany.

Red line = our path of Google Earth investigation Hopkins Red line = our path of Google Earth investigation

I don’t have any slides of limestone interior or Peten.

I have lots of slides of the Crystalline Highlands. This region of volcanic highlands extends from southern Mexico to southern Nicaragua. Carr’s article, “Weeping Woods” describes the forest communities of this physical region.

Cloud forests somewhere in the high relief Crystalline Highlands

Ocotal somewhere in the high relief Crystalline Highlands

Ocotal somewhere in the high relief Crystalline Highlands Ocotal somewhere in the high relief Crystalline Highlands. Many of the tropical montane forest tree species (pine, oak, sweet gum) migrated from mid-latitude regions during the Pleistocene to the highlands of Central America.

Pino or ocote, depending on which country you are in. Liquidambar, one of the few deciduous trees in the highlands…the Crystalline Highlands Pino or ocote, depending on which country you are in. Somewhere in the high relief Crystalline Highlands

Liquidambar, one of the few deciduous trees in the highlands…the Crystalline Highlands Somewhere in the high relief Crystalline Highlands

Life is lonely in the highlands…the Crystalline Highlands Life is lonely in the highlands…the Crystalline Highlands. Young boy herds goats. Another settlement on the other side of the valley Indigenous peoples comprise the majority of humans who inhabit the highlands…the Crystalline Highlands. Somewhere in the high relief Crystalline Highlands

Did I mention that life is lonely in the highlands… the Crystalline Highlands? Young boy rakes his family’s coffee beans. Hella high relief! In which season would you want to harvest and dry coffee beans?

Lenca village in Honduras’ portion of the Crystalline Highlands Lenca village in Honduras’ portion of the Crystalline Highlands. Indigenous settlements tend to be where elevations are high but the relief is relatively low.

Many still must cultivate steep hillsides for subsistence. Village Milpa

Lenca children in the highlands …the Crystalline Highlands.

Life is lonely for livestock in the highlands…the Crystalline Highlands. Cattle graze naturally occurring grasses in a sparse ocotal. Transhumance?

Life is becoming less lonely highlands … the Crystalline Highlands. Cell phone technology is connecting isolated settlements with the larger world, outside of the Crystalline Highlands. Many of these settlements never had telephones. Cell tower They are leapfrogging from telegraph lines to cell phones. Ocotal

The previous photograph was taken from Honduras’ portion of the Crystalline Highlands, looking southward to the next physical region we’ll look at: the Volcanic Highlands

Volcano in El Salvador Window in Honduras Ocotal

Red line = our path of slide and Google Earth investigation

Road cut between Ciudad Vieja and Antigua, Guatemala (Two colonial capital cities that were destroyed by volcanoes (1541 and 1773 and earthquakes). The undulating layers are volcanic ash deposited by different volcanic events.

Volcan Agua, looking south from Antigua, Guatemala. Season?

Volcan Agua, looking south from Antigua, Guatemala. Season?

Volcan Agua, looking south from Antigua, Guatemala. And, turn your head ~30 degrees to the right and you’ll see the next slide.

Volcan Acatenango Volcan Fuego

The ruins and volcanoes are tourist destinations Antigua was a colonial capital. Volcanoes and earthquakes destroyed many of its buildings. Some have been restored. Others, like this church, are still in ruins. The ruins and volcanoes are tourist destinations

Lake Atitlan, a large caldera that filled with water. Volcan Agua. The same one that you can see from Antigua.

Lake Atitlan Volcan Santo Tomas

Lake Atitlan Tourist cop Tourist Locals The stunning geography of Guatemala’s portion of the Volcanic Highlands attracts tourists to the region.

Almolonga, Guatemala: Fertile soil derived from volcanic ash.

Coffee and volcanoes?

Red line = our path of slide and Google Earth investigation

El Tigre, Honduras: a volcanic island just off of Honduras’ Pacific coast.

Volcan Telica Jicaral, Nicaragua

Arroz. Kind of like looking at the Sutter Buttes from south of Durham Volcan Momotombo Arroz. Kind of like looking at the Sutter Buttes from south of Durham

Volcan Momotombo Others

Volcan San Cristobal Volcan Casita Click on the link below to learn what happened here in northwestern Nicaragua in October of 1998. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989569,00.html?promoid=googlep

San Cristobal

Landslide scar on Volcan Casita caused by Hurricane Mitch

Memorial to the victims.

Memorial to the victims.

Some settlers have returned to live in the devastated area.

Volcan Momotombo Volcan Momotombito Lake Managua

My Miskito friend, Conrad Hooker My Miskito friend, Conrad Hooker. I met him while traveling through the Nicaraguan Depression and looking at the volcanoes there. Conrad is from Sandy Bay, Nicaragua. His village was destroyed by Hurricane Felix fall of 2007. I have loaned him money to rebuild. The next slide is the latest email that I have received from him. Conrad’s first language is Miskito. His second language is English, which sounds similar to Jamaican English.

dear sbrady Im verry happy to hort from you all so your family all so from, allof my people from, my villege  whe send you greathing I gate here managua yesterday im in managua for this reason I looking sea food market all  so I fine the market  Iwat trasport lobster height  quality so they will paid me 12 us dollar per paunds bot now Ihave problems Its Ineed  Ice chest to transport. each ice chest take 120 paunds lobster so Ineed 10 Ice chest because  this Its the verry long whe journey   So here in managua have this ice chest  so  ech ice chest cash 120 us dear my friends dont worry  i wat you are  loan me this money to buy this ice chest so with  second journey  I will paid yuor money With interes dear  my friends with this transport sea Ican build orphanage  children house because whe have verry hard ship live for our  people because whe dont  have harvest. yet  so sbrady  dont live me along because I stay in gueest house this is my ID Nomber 627-130 159-0000T My neme Its Conrad  Hooker  Evans I will waith your answer. today 15 th febrary 2008  Im in managua

Conrad is trying to buy large ice chests so that he can sell lobsters from the eastern coast to markets in western Nicaragua. Although Hurricane Felix destroyed much of the village, this year’s lobster crop is bountiful. To rebuild, however, the people of Sandy Bay need to sell the lobsters in markets in the west. The distance is not long. The time of travel is. La Mosquitia is poorly linked to the large population centers in the west. Only one road is passable, and only during verano, between western Nicaragua and coastal Mosquitia. Read the link to learn more about Sandy Bay and the hurricane. http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/latin_america_and_caribbean/country/nicaragua/index.cfm?uNewsID=116000

http://www.palmerministry.com/miskitoinfo.htm

Yellow line = route of Google Earth – slide excursion

Restrooms Mosquitia International Airport

Wet savanna. The savannas of Mosquitia receive enough rainfall to support a tropical rainforest. Nevertheless, a savanna (tropical grassland) grows there. Check Rains article for the explanation.

Rain in coastal Miskito settlement

Miskito taxi at the mouth of the Rio Paulaya

Mahogany pipante

Inland port, Mosquitia

Miskito fishing village

From local Wal-Mart

Not Mosquitia. Just a one of my pics nice that I found Not Mosquitia. Just a one of my pics nice that I found. What landscape region? Season?

Commercial lobster operations can afford this type of ships Commercial lobster operations can afford this type of ships. Miskito lobstermen rely on much smaller dug out canoes with sails. We’ll read about the competition between commercial and Miskito lobstermen later this semester. Lobster ships

Miskito ferry

Frontier boom-town in Mosquitia

Palacios, Honduras. 1993