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Isthmian–Atlantic Moist Forests
The Isthmian–Atlantic moist forests (NT0129) are a Central American tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion located on the lowland slopes (under 500 meters) on the caribbean sea side of Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Gulf and Pacific Ocean sides of Panama. The forest species are a mix of North American and South American, as this region only became a land bridge in the past 3 million years. Geography The ecoregion extends from Panama in the east along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica into the southeast of Nicaragua. In Panama the ecoregion extends across the isthmus of Panama from the Caribbean to the Gulf of Panama. The Isthmian–Atlantic moist forests lie in the neotropical realm and the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome. At the junction of Central and South America, this Atlantic component of this rainforest is located along the Atlantic lowlands of this region, at approximately 500 meters elevation. Due to the connection of North and South A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chocó–Darién Moist Forests
The Chocó–Darién moist forests (NT0115) is an ecoregion in the west of Colombia and east of Panama. The region has extremely high rainfall, and the forests hold great biodiversity. The northern and southern parts of the ecoregion have been considerably modified for ranching and farming, and there are threats from logging for paper pulp, uncontrolled gold mining, coca growing and industrialisation, but the central part of the ecoregion is relatively intact. Geography Location The Chocó–Darién moist forests extend along most of the Pacific coast of Colombia and extend north into Panama along the Caribbean coast. They are bounded to the east by the Andes, which separate them from the Amazon and Orinoco ecoregions. They have an area of . In Colombia the ecoregion is in the Chocó, Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Nariño departments. In Panama it is in the Darién and Guna Yala provinces. The northern section merges into Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests to the west in the I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary science and is concerned with local detail in general, including not only relief, but also natural, artificial, and cultural features such as roads, land boundaries, and buildings. In the United States, topography often means specifically ''relief'', even though the USGS topographic maps record not just elevation contours, but also roads, populated places, structures, land boundaries, and so on. Topography in a narrow sense involves the recording of relief or terrain, the three-dimensional quality of the surface, and the identification of specific landforms; this is also known as geomorphometry. In modern usage, this involves generation of elevation data in digital form (DEM). It is often considered to include the graphic representation of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial planet, rocky planet or natural satellite, moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Rapid-cooling, fine-grained basalt is chemically equivalent to slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro. The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is also an important rock type on other planetary bodies in the Solar System. For example, the bulk of the plains of volcanism on Venus, Venus, which cover ~80% of the surface, are basaltic; the lunar mare, lunar maria are plains of flood-basaltic lava flows; and basalt is a common rock on the surface of Mars. Molten basalt lava has a low viscosity due to its relatively low silica content (between 45% and 52%), resulting in rapidly moving lava flo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central America Volcanic Arc
The Central American Volcanic Arc (often abbreviated to CAVA) is a chain of volcanoes which extends parallel to the Pacific coastline of the Central American Isthmus, from Mexico to Panama. This volcanic arc, which has a length of 1,100 kilometers (680 mi)Rose, W., Conway, F., Pullinger, C., Deino, A. and McIntosh, W., 1999. An improved age framework for late Quaternary silicic eruptions in northern Central America. ''Bulletin of Volcanology'', 61(1-2), pp.106-120. is formed by an active subduction zone, with the Cocos Plate subducting underneath the Caribbean Plate.Álvarez-Gómez, J., Meijer, P., Martínez-Díaz, J. and Capote, R., 2008. Constraints from finite element modeling on the active tectonics of northern Central America and the Middle America Trench. ''Tectonics'', 27(1) The region has been volcanically and geologically active for at least the past several million years. Numerous volcanoes are spread throughout various Central American countries; many have been active i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Panamanian Montane Forests
The Eastern Panamanian montane forests (NT0122) is an ecoregion in the east of Panama and the extreme northwest of Colombia. It contains diverse flora and fauna, with considerable endemism. The ecoregion is largely intact due to its inaccessibility, although the opening of an extension of the Pan-American Highway has introduced threats from human activity. Geography Location The ecoregion covers several separate areas of higher ground in Panama and the adjoining border region of Colombia. It has an area of . In the east the ecoregion is found on mountains surrounded by Chocó–Darién moist forests. Further west it is found on mountains surrounded by Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests.. Terrain The region is one where the Caribbean Plate is riding over the Nazca Plate and the Cocos Plate, causing tectonic instability and volcanic activity. The Cordillera de San Blas and the Serranía del Darién are in the northeast, the latter containing the Cerro Tacarcuna. The south h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central American Atlantic Moist Forests
The Central American Atlantic moist forests ecoregion (WWF ID: NT0111) covers the lowland coastal forests of Honduras, southeast Guatemala, and the eastern forests of Nicaragua. Half of the ecoregion is closed-canopy tropical broadleaf evergreen forest, with tree heights reaching 50 meters. This ecoregion has the largest single fragment of natural forest in Central America, with a size of . The total area is . Location and description The ecoregion stretches for 700 km from the valley of Lake Izabal in southeastern Guatemala, across the northern coast of Honduras (in a 50 km wide strip), and down across most of the eastern half of Nicaragua. The mean elevation is , with a maximum of . Climate The climate of the ecoregion is ''Tropical monsoon climate'' (Köppen climate classification Tropical monsoon climate, (Am)). This climate is characterized by relatively even temperatures throughout the year (all months being greater than average temperature), and a pronounced dry se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the tenth largest in the Americas, slightly smaller than Lake Titicaca. With an elevation of above sea level, the lake reaches a depth of . It is intermittently joined by the Tipitapa River to Lake Managua. The lake drains to the Caribbean Sea via the San Juan River, historically making the lakeside city of Granada an Atlantic port, although Granada (as well as the entire lake) is closer to the Pacific Ocean geographically. The Pacific is near enough to be seen from the mountains of Ometepe (an island in the lake). The lake has a history of Caribbean pirates who assaulted Granada on three occasions. Before construction of the Panama Canal, a stagecoach line owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt's Accessory Transit Company connected the lake with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central American Dry Forests
The Central American dry forests ecoregion, of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome, is located in Central America. Geography The ecoregion covers a total area of approximately 68,100 km2. It extends along the Pacific coast of Central America, from southern Chiapas in southeastern Mexico through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua to the northeast of Costa Rica. Pockets of dry forest are also found in inland valleys among the Central American mountains. The dry forests extend from sea level up to 800 meters elevation. Climate The climate of the ecoregion is tropical. Average annual rainfall is between 1000 and 2000 mm, and is highly seasonal. 5 to 8 months of the year are dry, generally with one longer and one shorter dry period per year. The Central American mountains generally run from northwest to southeast, and Central America's prevailing winds generally blow from northeast or east to southwest or south. This weather and geologic patter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costa Rican Seasonal Moist Forests
The Costa Rican seasonal moist forests ecoregion (WWF ID: NT0119) covers the Pacific Slope of the volcanic mountain range of northwestern Costa Rica and the extreme south of Nicaragua. The area has a distinct dry season during which the characteristic deciduous trees drop their leaves. The forests themselves have been highly degraded in the past by human conversion to agriculture and settlement. The Costa Rican capital city of San Jose is in the middle of this ecoregion. Location and description The northern mountain range in Costa Rica, the Cordillera de Guanacaste, stretches for 110 km from the border with Nicaragua southeast to Costa Rica's Cordillera Central (Costa Rica). As the range occurs where the Cocos Plate is subducting beneath the Caribbean Plate there are many stratovolcanoes in the Cordillera de Guancaste. The mean elevation in the ecoregion is ; the highest point is . The ecoregion to the east at higher elevations is the Talamancan montane forests ecoregion. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talamancan Montane Forests
The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and western Panama in Central America. Setting The Talamancan montane forests cover a discontinuous area of in Cordilleran mountains, including the Cordillera de Guanacaste, Cordillera de Tilarán, Cordillera Central, and Cordillera de Talamanca, from northwestern Costa Rica to western Panama, with outliers on Cerro Hoya on Panama's Azuero Peninsula. The montane forests lie above 750 to 1500 meters elevation, up to approximately 3000 meters elevation, where they transition to the grasslands and shrublands of the Costa Rican páramo on the highest peaks. The montane forests are surrounded at lower elevations by lowland forests, including the Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests on the Atlantic (Caribbean) slope, the Isthmian-Pacific moist forests to the south on the Pacific slope, and the Costa Rican seasonal moist forests to the northwest. Flora The forests are made u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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