National parks
National parks in Guatemala [1] include:
Dulce River is a river in Guatemala, completely contained within the department of Izabal. It is part of a lake and river system that has become a popular cruising sailboat destination.
San Cristóbal Verapaz is a town, with a population of 20,961, and a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz. It is located approximately 29 km from Cobán, the capital of Alta Verapaz and about 210 km from Guatemala City. San Cristóbal belongs to the Pokimchi' linguistic area. Its main income source is the «Cobán» shoe factory, which specializes in industrial rubber boots, which are sold both locally and internationally.
The Maya Biosphere Reserve is a nature reserve in Guatemala managed by Guatemala's National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP). The Maya Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 21,602 km², one-fifth of the country's total land area.
Biosphere reserves in Guatemala include:
Lachuá Lake is a karstic lake in Guatemala. It is located in the middle of a national park covered with tropical rain forest, northwest of Cobán, near the border between the departments of Alta Verapaz and El Quiché. The lake is near circular in shape and is probably a cenote or doline. The lake water has a slightly sulphurous smell, which may explain the origin of its name: "Lachuá" is derived from the Q'eqchi' words "la chu há" which means "the fetid water". The water contains a relatively high degree of calcite and tree branches fallen into the lake are quickly covered with a white calcite layer.
Grutas de Lanquín is a large limestone cave system located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of Lanquín in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
Cuevas del Silvino is a limestone cave system in Guatemala. It is located at km 260 on the road connecting Guatemala City to Puerto Barrios, in the municipality of Morales in the department of Izabal.
El Pino Lake is a lake in Guatemala. It is located 30 km south-southeast of Guatemala City, in the municipality of Barberena in the Santa Rosa Department. The lake has a surface area of 0.72 km² and a maximum depth of 18 m. The lake waters are used for subsistence fishing, sport fishing, and swimming.
Las Victorias National Park is located in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, on the north-western outskirts of the city of Cobán. Formerly a finca acquired in the mid-19th century by the French coffee grower Jules Rossignon, Las Victorias was designated a national park in 1980. The park covers an area of 82 ha, and is managed by the National Forestry Institute (INAB).
Riscos de Momostenango is an area of curiously shaped sandstone formations located in the municipality of Momostenango in Guatemala.
Cerro El Baúl, also known as El Baúl, is a forested lava dome overlooking the valley of Quetzaltenango. It is located about 3 km north of the Almolonga volcano, at the south-eastern edge of the city of Quetzaltenango in Guatemala. And is one of the city's last remaining green areas.
San José la Colonia is located in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, on the northern outskirts of the city of Cobán. Formerly a nationalized finca, San José la Colonia was designated a national park in 1976. The park covers an area of 54 ha, and is managed by the National Forestry Institute (INAB).
Sipacate-Naranjo National Park is located along the Pacific coast of Escuintla in Guatemala. The park includes mangrove forests, lagoons and sandy beaches and covers an area of 20 km long and 1 km wide, stretching between the coastal towns of Sipacate and El Naranjo.
El Rosario National Park is located in El Petén, Guatemala, on the eastern edge of the town of Sayaxché.. The park is named after laguna El Rosario, a small lake within its boundaries, and was formerly a state owned finca managed by the National Forestry Institute (INAB). In 1980 it was declared a national park. The park covers an area of 11.05 km2, including the El Rosario lake, which has a surface area of 4 ha in the dry season, though it is considerably larger during the rainy season.
Naciones Unidas National Park is a forested park area of 4.91 km2, located 21 km south of Guatemala City, just north of Lake Amatitlán in the municipality of Villa Nueva. It is one of the last remaining nature reserves in the Guatemala City Metropolitan Area.
Punta de Manabique is a small peninsula that separates Amatique Bay from the Gulf of Honduras. It is located on Guatemala's east coast, some 20 km north of Puerto Barrios.
The National Council for Protected Areas is the government agency of that has as its mission the conservation and the sustainable use of the biological diversity and protected areas of Guatemala. CONAP was created by Decree 4-89, or the Law of Protected Areas gave jurisdiction to over the System of Protected Areas of Guatemala, which is the conglomeration of all protected areas, and those under special protection in the country.
There are 14 Holdridge life zones in Guatemala:
The Trifinio Biosphere Reserve is a protected area in Guatemala, located where the borders of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras meet. The reserve was created in 1987, and has an area of 221.79 km2. It protects the Guatemalan portion of the Montecristo massif and its cloud forests, and is the Guatemalan portion of the Trifinio Fraternidad Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, which spans the three countries' borders.
