Geography of Nicaragua#Extreme points

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Image:Nicaragua pol 97.jpg

Image:Nicaragua econ 1979.jpg

The natural regions of Nicaragua are the Pacific lowlands, central highlands, and Caribbean lowlands.

The Pacific lowlands extend about 75 kilometers inland from the Pacific coast. Most of the area is flat, except for a line of young volcanoes, many of which are still active, running between the Golfo de Fonseca and Lago de Nicaragua. These peaks lie just west of a large crustal fracture or structural rift that forms a long, narrow depression passing southeast across the isthmus from the Golfo de Fonseca to the Río San Juan.

The rift is occupied in part by the largest freshwater lakes in Central America: Lago de Managua (56 kilometers long and 24 kilometers wide) and Lago de Nicaragua (about 160 kilometers long and 75 kilometers wide). These two lakes are joined by the Río Tipitapa, which flows south into Lago de Nicaragua. Lago de Nicaragua in turn drains into the Río San Juan (the boundary between Nicaragua and Costa Rica), which flows through the southern part of the rift lowlands to the Caribbean Sea.

The valley of the Río San Juan forms a natural passageway close to sea level across the Nicaraguan isthmus from the Caribbean Sea to Lago de Nicaragua and the rift. From the southwest edge of Lago de Nicaragua, it is only nineteen kilometers to the Pacific Ocean. This route was considered as a possible alternative to the Panama Canal at various times in the past.

Surrounding the lakes and extending northwest of them along the rift valley to the Golfo de Fonseca are fertile lowland plains highly enriched with volcanic ash from nearby volcanoes. These lowlands are densely populated and well cultivated. The natural vegetation of the Pacific lowlands is dry forest, but much of it has been converted to agriculture or pasture. More directly west of the lake region is a narrow line of ash-covered hills and volcanoes that separate the lakes from the Pacific Ocean. This line is highest in the central portion near the cities of León and Managua.

Because Western Nicaragua is located where two major tectonic plates collide, it is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Although periodic volcanic eruptions have caused agricultural damage from fumes and ash, earthquakes have been by far more destructive to life and property. Hundreds of shocks occur each year, some of which cause severe damage. The capital city of Managua was virtually destroyed in 1931 and again in 1972.

The triangular area known as the central highlands lies northeast and east of the Pacific lowlands. These rugged mountains are composed of ridges 900 to 1,800 meters high and a mixed forest of oak and pine alternating with deep valleys that drain primarily toward the Caribbean. Very few significant streams flow west to the Pacific Ocean. Those that do are steep, short, and flow intermittently.

The relatively dry western slopes of the central highlands, protected by the ridges of the highlands from the moist winds of the Caribbean, have drawn farmers from the Pacific region since colonial times. The eastern slopes of the highlands are covered with montane rain forests and are lightly populated with pioneer agriculturalists and small communities of indigenous people.

The eastern Caribbean lowlands of Nicaragua form the extensive (occupying more than 50 percent of national territory) and still sparsely settled lowland area known as the Costa de Mosquitos (Miskito Coast). The Caribbean lowlands are sometimes considered synonymous with the former department of Zelaya, which is now divided into the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (Región Autónoma de la Costa Caribe Norte, RACCN) and the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (Región Autónoma de la Costa Caribe Sur, RACCS) and constitutes about 45 percent of Nicaragua's territory.

These lowlands are a hot, humid area that includes coastal plains, the eastern spurs of the central highlands, and the lower portion of the Río San Juan basin. The soil is generally leached and infertile. Pine and palm savannas predominate along the Caribbean coast as far south as the Laguna de Perlas. There are extensive areas of tropical rain forest, including the Isthmian–Atlantic moist forests extending southwards from the Laguna de Perlas past the Río San Juan into Costa Rica, and the Central American Atlantic moist forests lying between the savannas and the central highlands, and along rivers through the savannas.

Fertile soils are found only along the natural levees and narrow floodplains of the numerous rivers, including the Escondido, the Río Grande de Matagalpa, the Prinzapolka, and the Coco, and along the many lesser streams that rise in the central highlands and cross the region en route to the complex of shallow bays, lagoons, and salt marshes of the Caribbean coast.

{{Further|Climate change in Nicaragua}}

Temperature varies little with the seasons in Nicaragua and is largely a function of elevation. The tierra caliente, or "hot land", is characteristic of the foothills and lowlands from sea level to about {{convert|750|m|ft|0|sp=us}} of elevation. Here, daytime temperatures average {{convert|30|to|33|°C}}, and night temperatures drop to {{convert|21|to|24|°C|°F|1}} most of the year.

The tierra templada, or "temperate land", is characteristic of most of the central highlands, where elevations range between {{convert|750|and|1600|m|ft|0|sp=us}}. Here, daytime temperatures are mild ({{convert|24|to|27|°C}}), and nights are cool ({{convert|15|to|21|°C}}).

Tierra fria, the "cold land" at elevations above {{convert|1600|m|ft|0|sp=us}}, is found only on and near the highest peaks of the central highlands. Daytime averages in this region are {{convert|22|to|24|°C|°F|1}}, with nighttime lows below {{convert|15|°C}}.

Rainfall varies greatly in Nicaragua. The Caribbean lowlands are the wettest section of Central America, receiving between {{convert|2500|and|6500|mm|in|1|sp=us}} of rain annually. The western slopes of the central highlands and the Pacific lowlands receive considerably less annual rainfall, being protected from moisture-laden Caribbean trade winds by the peaks of the central highlands.

Mean annual precipitation for the rift valley and western slopes of the highlands ranges from {{convert|1000|to|1500|mm|in|1|sp=us}}. Rainfall is seasonal—May through October is the rainy season, and December through April is the driest period.

During the rainy season, Eastern Nicaragua is subject to heavy flooding along the upper and middle reaches of all major rivers. Near the coast, where river courses widen and river banks and natural levees are low, floodwaters spill over onto the floodplains until large sections of the lowlands become continuous sheets of water. River bank agricultural plots are often heavily damaged, and considerable numbers of savanna animals die during these floods.

The coast is also subject to destructive tropical storms and hurricanes, particularly from July through October. The high winds and floods, accompanying these storms often cause considerable destruction of property. In addition, heavy rains (called papagayo storms) accompanying the passage of a cold front or a low-pressure area may sweep from the north through both eastern and western Nicaragua (particularly the rift valley) from November through March.

Hurricanes or heavy rains in the central highlands where agriculture has destroyed much of the natural vegetation also cause considerable crop damage and soil erosion. In 1988, Hurricane Joan forced hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans to flee their homes and caused more than US$1 billion in damage, most of it along the Caribbean coast.Fox, Robert [http://perc.ca/PEN/1989-03/fox.html Nicaragua Still Reeling in Wake of a Hurricane] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050320125718/http://www.perc.ca/PEN/1989-03/fox.html |date=March 20, 2005 }} accessed April 10, 2006Preston, Julia, Washington Post (1988) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/weather/hurricane/poststories/joan.htm Response Tepid to Managua's Aid Plea] accessed April 10, 2006 In November 2020, two major hurricanes: Eta and Iota, made landfall on the nation in nearly same locations in consecutive weeks, causing hundreds of deaths throughout the Caribbean region and causing millions of dollars in damage.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/11/25/hurricanes-eta-iota-hit-nicaragua-with-743-million-in-economic-losses.html|title=Hurricanes Eta, Iota hit Nicaragua with $743 million in economic losses|website=The Jakarta Post}}{{Cite web|date=2020-11-21|title=Monitoreo Azul y Blanco reporta 28 muertos por el huracán Iota en Nicaragua|url=https://confidencial.com.ni/monitoreo-azul-y-blanco-reporta-28-muertos-por-el-huracan-iota-en-nicaragua/|access-date=2020-11-23|website=Confidencial|language=es}}

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Managua (extremes 1952-present)

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|collapsed = Yes

|Jan record high C = 37.0

|Feb record high C = 37.1

|Mar record high C = 37.8

|Apr record high C = 38.5

|May record high C = 38.5

|Jun record high C = 37.5

|Jul record high C = 39.2

|Aug record high C = 35.7

|Sep record high C = 36.5

|Oct record high C = 36.6

|Nov record high C = 35.4

|Dec record high C = 36.2

|year record high C = 39.2

|Jan high C = 31.0

|Feb high C = 32.1

|Mar high C = 33.6

|Apr high C = 34.3

|May high C = 34.0

|Jun high C = 31.4

|Jul high C = 30.9

|Aug high C = 31.4

|Sep high C = 30.3

|Oct high C = 30.8

|Nov high C = 30.6

|Dec high C = 30.8

|year high C = 31.8

|Jan mean C = 26.3

|Feb mean C = 27.2

|Mar mean C = 28.5

|Apr mean C = 29.3

|May mean C = 29.3

|Jun mean C = 27.2

|Jul mean C = 26.8

|Aug mean C = 27.2

|Sep mean C = 26.8

|Oct mean C = 26.5

|Nov mean C = 26.3

|Dec mean C = 26.2

|year mean C = 27.3

|Jan low C = 20.4

|Feb low C = 20.6

|Mar low C = 21.7

|Apr low C = 22.6

|May low C = 23.4

|Jun low C = 23.0

|Jul low C = 22.6

|Aug low C = 22.4

|Sep low C = 22.2

|Oct low C = 22.1

|Nov low C = 20.9

|Dec low C = 20.0

|year low C = 21.8

|Jan record low C = 15.0

|Feb record low C = 15.2

|Mar record low C = 17.2

|Apr record low C = 19.0

|May record low C = 16.0

|Jun record low C = 20.0

|Jul record low C = 20.0

|Aug record low C = 19.0

|Sep record low C = 15.0

|Oct record low C = 17.0

|Nov record low C = 15.0

|Dec record low C = 16.2

|year record low C = 15.0

|rain colour=green

|Jan rain mm = 9

|Feb rain mm = 5

|Mar rain mm = 3

|Apr rain mm = 8

|May rain mm = 130

|Jun rain mm = 224

|Jul rain mm = 144

|Aug rain mm = 136

|Sep rain mm = 215

|Oct rain mm = 280

|Nov rain mm = 42

|Dec rain mm = 8

|year rain mm = 1204

|unit rain days = 0.1 mm

|Jan rain days = 4

|Feb rain days = 2

|Mar rain days = 2

|Apr rain days = 2

|May rain days = 10

|Jun rain days = 22

|Jul rain days = 20

|Aug rain days = 17

|Sep rain days = 20

|Oct rain days = 19

|Nov rain days = 10

|Dec rain days = 5

|year rain days = 133

|Jan humidity = 69

|Feb humidity = 64

|Mar humidity = 62

|Apr humidity = 61

|May humidity = 70

|Jun humidity = 80

|Jul humidity = 79

|Aug humidity = 81

|Sep humidity = 82

|Oct humidity = 83

|Nov humidity = 78

|Dec humidity = 73

|year humidity = 73

|Jan sun = 263.5

|Feb sun = 254.2

|Mar sun = 291.4

|Apr sun = 276.0

|May sun = 229.4

|Jun sun = 186.0

|Jul sun = 151.9

|Aug sun = 195.3

|Sep sun = 210.0

|Oct sun = 223.2

|Nov sun = 231.0

|Dec sun = 248.0

|year sun =

|Jand sun = 8.5

|Febd sun = 9.0

|Mard sun = 9.4

|Aprd sun = 9.2

|Mayd sun = 7.4

|Jund sun = 6.2

|Juld sun = 4.9

|Augd sun = 6.3

|Sepd sun = 7.0

|Octd sun = 7.2

|Novd sun = 7.7

|Decd sun = 8.0

|yeard sun = 7.6

|source 1 = Deutscher Wetterdienst

{{cite web

| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_787410_kt.pdf

| title = Klimatafel von Managua (Int. Flugh.) / Nicaragua

| work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world

| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst

| language = de

| access-date = 9 June 2017}}

|source 2 = Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)

{{cite web

| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=1750

| title = Station Managua

| publisher = Météo Climat

| language = fr

| access-date = 27 June 2017}}

|date=July 2012

}}

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Bluefields

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|collapsed = Yes

|Jan high C = 27.8

|Feb high C = 28.4

|Mar high C = 29.0

|Apr high C = 29.8

|May high C = 29.9

|Jun high C = 28.9

|Jul high C = 28.1

|Aug high C = 28.5

|Sep high C = 29.1

|Oct high C = 28.8

|Nov high C = 28.4

|Dec high C = 28.0

|Jan mean C = 24.9

|Feb mean C = 25.2

|Mar mean C = 26.2

|Apr mean C = 27.0

|May mean C = 27.0

|Jun mean C = 26.0

|Jul mean C = 25.6

|Aug mean C = 25.6

|Sep mean C = 25.8

|Oct mean C = 25.6

|Nov mean C = 25.3

|Dec mean C = 25.2

|Jan low C = 22.2

|Feb low C = 22.3

|Mar low C = 23.3

|Apr low C = 23.7

|May low C = 24.2

|Jun low C = 23.9

|Jul low C = 23.7

|Aug low C = 23.6

|Sep low C = 23.5

|Oct low C = 23.1

|Nov low C = 22.8

|Dec low C = 22.6

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 218

|Feb rain mm = 114

|Mar rain mm = 71

|Apr rain mm = 101

|May rain mm = 264

|Jun rain mm = 581

|Jul rain mm = 828

|Aug rain mm = 638

|Sep rain mm = 383

|Oct rain mm = 418

|Nov rain mm = 376

|Dec rain mm = 328

|Jan rain days = 19

|Feb rain days = 13

|Mar rain days = 10

|Apr rain days = 10

|May rain days = 15

|Jun rain days = 23

|Jul rain days = 26

|Aug rain days = 25

|Sep rain days = 21

|Oct rain days = 21

|Nov rain days = 20

|Dec rain days = 22

|unit rain days = 1.0 mm

|source 1 = HKO{{cite web|url=http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/s_america/mx_cam/bluffields_e.htm|title=Climatological Normals of Bluefields, Nicaragua|access-date=2012-03-13|publisher=Hong Kong Observatory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702081444/http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/s_america/mx_cam/bluffields_e.htm|archive-date=2015-07-02|url-status=dead}}

|date=March 2012

}}

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| location = Puerto Cabezas

| metric first = Yes

| single line = Yes

| collapsed = Yes

| Jan high C = 29.7

| Feb high C = 29.7

| Mar high C = 30.5

| Apr high C = 31.3

| May high C = 31.8

| Jun high C = 31.4

| Jul high C = 30.8

| Aug high C = 31.2

| Sep high C = 31.2

| Oct high C = 31.6

| Nov high C = 30.8

| Dec high C = 29.7

| Jan mean C = 25.0

| Feb mean C = 24.5

| Mar mean C = 26.5

| Apr mean C = 27.2

| May mean C = 27.8

| Jun mean C = 27.5

| Jul mean C = 27.1

| Aug mean C = 27.1

| Sep mean C = 27.0

| Oct mean C = 26.3

| Nov mean C = 25.8

| Dec mean C = 25.4

| Jan low C = 18.8

| Feb low C = 18.6

| Mar low C = 19.8

| Apr low C = 20.9

| May low C = 21.8

| Jun low C = 22.0

| Jul low C = 21.9

| Aug low C = 22.0

| Sep low C = 22.2

| Oct low C = 21.6

| Nov low C = 20.8

| Dec low C = 19.3

| rain colour = green

| Jan rain mm = 148

| Feb rain mm = 83

| Mar rain mm = 48

| Apr rain mm = 54

| May rain mm = 183

| Jun rain mm = 378

| Jul rain mm = 414

| Aug rain mm = 370

| Sep rain mm = 303

| Oct rain mm = 338

| Nov rain mm = 278

| Dec rain mm = 202

| Jan rain days = 16

| Feb rain days = 11

| Mar rain days = 7

| Apr rain days = 8

| May rain days = 12

| Jun rain days = 20

| Jul rain days = 23

| Aug rain days = 22

| Sep rain days = 20

| Oct rain days = 20

| Nov rain days = 19

| Dec rain days = 20

| unit rain days = 1.0 mm

| source 1 = Hong Kong Observatory{{cite web

|url = http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/s_america/mx_cam/puerto_cabezas_e.htm

|title = Climatological Information for Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua

|access-date = December 6, 2012

|publisher = Hong Kong Observatory

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130926202159/http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/s_america/mx_cam/puerto_cabezas_e.htm

|archive-date = September 26, 2013

|url-status = dead

}}

| date = December 2012

| source =

}}

Nicaragua is subject to destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes. It currently faces deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution. It is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, the Nuclear Test Ban, and the Ozone Layer Protection, and has signed but not ratified the Law of the Sea.

• Northernmost point: North of Liwa Sirpe
• Southernmost point: Trinidad, Río San Juan
• Westernmost point: Pacific coast at Gulf of Fonseca, Chinandega Department
• Easternmost point: Miskito Cays archipelago, North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region
• Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
• Highest point: Mogotón 2,085 m

• Contiguous zone: {{convert|24|nmi|km mi|1|lk=in}}
• Territorial sea: {{convert|12|nmi|km mi|1}}
• Exclusive economic zone: {{convert|123,881|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}

{{portal|Nicaragua}}

• List of ecoregions in Nicaragua
• List of islands of Nicaragua
• List of rivers of Nicaragua
• List of volcanoes in Nicaragua
• Protected areas of Nicaragua
• Territorial disputes of Nicaragua
• Water resources management in Nicaragua

{{Reflist}}

{{Nicaragua topics}}

{{Geography of North America}}

{{North America topic|Climate of}}