Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
karst terrain of Alta Verapaz
Guatemala's mountain scenery comes largely as a product of its geographic location at
the intersection of the North American, Cocos, and Caribbean plates, making it one of
the most seismically and volcanically active places in the world. Indeed, Guatemala is no
stranger to earthquakes. Among the many fault lines running through the country are the
parallelChixoy-Polochic and Motagua faults. The latter is responsible for the most recent
major earthquake to rock Guatemala, a magnitude-7.5 whopper in February 1976 killing
thousands and wiping entire villages off the face of the map. A series of massive earth-
quakes in 1776 resulted in the relocation of the Guatemalan capital from the Panchoy Val-
ley (Antigua Guatemala) to the Valley of the Hermitage, where it remains today, better
known as Guatemala City.
Rivers
Guatemala has several rivers worthy of mention. The greatest of these is the Usumacinta,
which is formed by the confluence of the Chixoy and Pasión Rivers, making it Central
America's most voluminous river. Guatemalan author Virgilio Rodríguez Macal, in his
novel
Guayacán,
calls it the “father and lord of the Central American rivers.” The
Usumacinta forms much of Guatemala's border with Mexico and continues its northwest-
erly flow all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. On the Guatemalan side, the Usumacinta bor-
derstherelativelyuntouchedSierradelLacandónNationalPark,whichharborsdensetrop-
