This extensive form of cultivation has become less sustainable as fallow periods are shortened in response to rising demographic pressures and as the forest soils lose their ability to recuperate. Much of Central America’s timberland, however, has been cleared by slash-and-burn cultivators, who move on when the soil is exhausted. Tropical rainforests occupy the eastern lowlands, while evergreen forests clothe the lower slopes along the Pacific coast, and pine and oak forests grow at somewhat higher elevations. See all videos for this articleĬentral America’s natural vegetation is varied. In Belize and elsewhere in Central America, deforestation has caused serious problems. In general, the Caribbean side receives about twice as much rain as the Pacific region. January through March are the driest months. Rainfall occurs primarily during the summer and is heaviest between May and November. Elevation mitigates the climatic effects of Central America’s tropical latitude so that average temperatures in the highlands are much lower than those in the coastal lowlands. The climates of Central America are essentially tropical, tempered by proximity to the sea, by elevation, by latitude, and by local topography in consequence, they may vary substantially over short distances. The weathered volcanic lavas produce a fertile soil, however, and the highlands of the volcanic zones have consequently become highly productive agricultural zones and areas of dense population. Some of Central America’s volcanoes erupt violently from time to time, and earthquakes frequently occur in the region. Elevation steadily increases west of the Caribbean lowlands, until, toward the Pacific Coast, plateau highlands culminate in mountain ridges and some 40 volcanic cones, some of which attain elevations of more than 12,000 feet (3,700 metres). The western band of Pacific coastal lowland is narrow and overshadowed by mountain ranges, and, except in Nicaragua and Honduras, the eastern plains along the Caribbean are also narrow.
Humid swamps and lowlands extend along both the west and east coasts, but four-fifths of Central America is either hilly or mountainous.
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