Overview

Bordered on the north by Honduras, on the south by Costa Rica, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean, Nicaragua is Central America's largest nation. Within its triangular borders there are 57,089 square miles (147,900 square kilometers), making Nicaragua the size of Iowa. Dividing the Caribbean lowlands from the Pacific coast is a range of volcanic mountains whose highest peak, Pico Mogoton, 6,913 feet above sea level, is near the Honduran border. The 3,000-square-mile Lake Nicaragua is the largest lake in Central America, and because it was once part of the Pacific Ocean, it is the only place in the world where freshwater sharks, swordfish, and sea horses live. The Caribbean lowlands, which extend inland from the Mosquito Coast, make up half the national territory, but most of Nicaragua's population has always been concentrated near the fertile Pacific coast.

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