Central America Central America is a land of sea and mountains. The peaks of the Sierra Madre stretch from Mexico to Honduras, towering in places to over 5500m. Yet the sea is rarely far away. High up, the climate is cool, but down near the coast there are steamy, tropical jungles, and the marshes of the Caribbean coast, including the aptly named Mosquito Coast, are especially hot and sticky. Natural disasters are frequent in Central America.
Hurricanes batter the Caribbean coast each summer.
Barely a year goes by without a major earthquake. The Panama Canal has been a source of conflict since it was built in 1914. It is now controlled by the USA, but control goes to Panama in 2000. Yet the Maya and other early civilizations had flourished here for thousands of years. The coming of the Spanish decimated the native peoples living here.