Caribbean Lowlands
TheCaribbean Lowlandsare region of plains along the eastern coast of severalCentral Americannations along theCaribbean Sea,includingBelize,Honduras,Nicaragua,Costa Rica,andPanama.
Geography
[edit]Thelowlandsare mainly between the majorAmerican CordilleraSystem ranges running down the center of theCentral American Isthmusand theCaribbeancoasts.
The width of the Caribbean lowlands varies dramatically between countries. In eastern Honduras, the lowlands can stretch as much as 100km inland, while near Puerto Límon in Costa Rica, the lowlands narrow to a width of less than ten kilometres.[1]The region takes up over 16% of the territory of Honduras.[2]
There are three major ecosystems in the lowlands: swamp, savannah and tropical rainforest.[1]
Several indigenous tribes lived in the lowlands prior to the arrival of Europeans, but after a population collapse the area was only sparsely re-settled until transport links improved, including the completion of a railway in Costa Rica.[3]
Bananas have been a historically important crop of the lowlands area in Costa Rica. Cultivation started around the turn of the 20th century.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abKent, Robert (2016).Latin America: Regions and People.Guilford Publications. p. 220.
- ^A Directory of Neotropical Wetlands.University of Minnesota Press. 1986. p. 351.
- ^Kappelle, Maarten (2016).Costa Rican Ecosystems.University of Chicago Press. p. 563.
- ^Clarence F. Jones; Paul C. Morrison (January 1952)."Evolution of the Banana Industry of Costa Rica".Economic Geography.28(1): 1–19.doi:10.2307/141616.JSTOR141616.
- Regions of Central America
- Ecoregions of Central America
- Geography of Central America
- Landforms of Central America
- Plains of North America
- Geography of Belize
- Geography of Guatemala
- Geography of Honduras
- Geography of Nicaragua
- Geography of Panama
- Caribbean Sea
- Coasts of the Atlantic Ocean
- Regions of the Caribbean
- Neotropical ecoregions
- Belize geography stubs
- Guatemala geography stubs
- Honduras geography stubs
- Nicaragua geography stubs
- Panama geography stubs