Nicaragua borders Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. To
the east lies the Caribbean, and to the west the Pacific.
Lake Nicaragua, largest Central
American lakes & 10th largest freshwater lake in world. Except for
Bluefields, Puerto Cabezas & San Juan del Norte on Atlantic, towns within
100 km of Pacific. Settled
as a colony of Spain in the 1520s, Nicaragua gained its independence in
1821. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption
spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived
civil war that brought the Marxist
Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels
in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas
through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990 and again in 1996 saw
the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy
during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
In 1998 the
population was estimated at
4,807,000 people. The main language
is Spanish. Along the Mosquito Coast (Costa
de Mosquito) there are English-speaking communities in which African or
mixed African and indigenous Indians predominate.
The country's main feature in the
southwest is Lake Nicaragua, 148km (92
miles) long and about 55km (34 miles) at its widest. The island of Ometepe
is the largest of the 310 islands on the lake. These islands have a
reputation for great beauty and are one of the country's main tourist
attractions. In the north are the Isabella Mountains. Lake Managua is
situated to the northwest. Volcanoes,
including the famous Momotombo, protrude from the surrounding lowlands
northwest of the lakes. A ring
of volcanoes - many still active - make up Cordillera de los Maribios, a
chain of peaks running from Gulf of Fonseca to Lake Managua. The volcanic
soil makes fertile farmland, and fields of corn, sugarcane, beans, cotton
and, in higher areas, coffee abound.
The majority of
Nicaragua's population lives and works in the lowland between the Pacific
and western shores of Lake Nicaragua, the southwestern shore of Lake
Managua and the southwestern sides of the range of volcanoes. It is only
in recent years that settlers have taken to coffee growing and cattle
farming in the highlands around Matagalpa and Jinotega.
The country's main
rivers are the San Juan, the lower
reaches of which form the border with Costa Rica, and the
Rio Grande. The Corn Islands (Islas
del Maiz) in the Caribbean are two small beautiful islands fringed with
white coral and palms. They are very popular as holiday resorts with both
Nicaraguans and tourists.
The
capital of nicaragua, bordering the
shores of lake Managua, is the city of
Managua. (estimated population in 1994
: 1,000,000). This city was hit by two major
earthquakes in the twentieth century.
Since the 1972 earthquake the city has had no
center. Those returning to Managua after a few years will notice marked
changes. An improving economy has produced a construction boom. It will be
obvious, however, that the recovering economy has not benefited everyone,
as poverty is still widespread. The Huellas de
Acahualinca museum houses the ancient footprints of people and
animals running toward the lake from a volcanic eruption. The Museo de la
Revolución has interesting historical exhibits with an emphasis on the
revolutionary struggle of this century. There are also several lagunas, or
volcanic crater lakes, which are popular swimming spots.
Several of Managua's attractions stand
around the Plaza de la República,
including the lakeside municipal cathedral, which has been reconditioned
with help from foreign donors and is now open to the public. Near the
cathedral is the recently renovated Palacio Nacional, which has two giant
paintings of Augusto Sandino and Carlos Fonseca at the entrance.
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