Sierra del Merendón is a mountain range extending on the eastern border of Guatemala and Honduras. Its south-western border is marked by the

Lempa River The Lempa River ( es, Río Lempa) is a river in Central America. Geography Its sources are located in between the Sierra Madre and the Sierra del Merendón in southern Guatemala, near the town of Olopa. In Guatemala the river is called ''Rí ...

valley, its northern border by the

Motagua River The Motagua River () is a river in Guatemala. It rises in the western highlands of Guatemala where it is also called Río Grande, and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The final few kilometres of the river form part of the ...

valley. The mountain range has several different

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

s and

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s, including cloud forests. The Cusuco National Park (Parque Nacional El Cusuco) is located on the Honduran side and protects an area 23,440

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

of temperate forest in the Merendón mountain range. The core zone is located at an altitude of 1,800 - 2,242 m. (15° 29.8' − 15° 32.1' N, 88° 13.0' − 88° 16.3' W). Predominant forest habitats in the park are cloud forests (1,500 - 2,242 m), semi-arid pine forests on south-facing slopes (800 - 1,500 m), wet deciduous forests on north-facing slopes (500 - 1,500 m).

References

Mountain ranges of Guatemala Geography of the Izabal Department Geography of the Zacapa Department Mountains of Honduras Cortés Department Santa Bárbara Department, Honduras Mountain ranges of Central America {{Honduras-geo-stub