Central America is commonly considered part of the North American continent, but is often referred to as a separate region. Central America is a narrow isthmus bounded by North America and the Gulf of Mexico to the north and South America to the south. Central America has the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The countries considered part of Central America are her seven: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
Before Europe colonized the area, Central America was inhabited by many Native Americans. Most of this area was a Spanish colony. Spanish is still the most widely spoken language.
The Caribbean Islands are another region considered part of the North American continent. They are located in the Caribbean Sea east of Central America. His four large islands in the Caribbean are Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
The Geography of Central America and Caribbean:
Population of Central America: 43,308,660 (Source: 2013 CIA World Fact book)
Population of Caribbean: 39,169,962 (Source: 2009 CIA World Fact book)
Total Area of Central America: 202,233 square miles
Total Area of Caribbean: 92,541 square miles
Major cities of Central America:
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Havana, Cuba
- Santiago, Dominican Republic
- Guatemala City, Republic of Guatemala
- San Salvador, El Salvador
- Tegucigalpa, Honduras
- Managua, Nicaragua
- San Pedro Sula, Honduras
- Panama City, Panama
- San Jose, Costa Rica
Major Biomes of Central America: Rainforest
Bordering Bodies of Water: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Straits of Florida
Major Geographical Features: Sierra Madre de Chiapas, Cordillera Isabelia Mountains, Sierra Maestra Mountains, Lucayan Archipelago, Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles, Isthmus of Panama
Countries of Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
Countries of the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, The Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba (Timeline of Cuba), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands.
Interesting Facts about Central America and the Caribbean:
Once upon a time there was a country called Central America. Today it is divided into Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.a
The Panama Canal allows ships to cross Central America from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The canal is a man-made structure that stretches 80 miles across Panama.
Central America was home to one of the world’s greatest civilizations in history, the Maya civilization. The most populous country in Central America is Guatemala (2013 estimate: 14.3 million). The largest in the Caribbean is Cuba (2013 estimate: 11.1 million).
The Caribbean contains about 8% of the world’s coral reefs (by area).