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A Small, Struggling Land

Quick Facts: The Geography of El Salvador

Location: Middle America, bordering the northern Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras. Geographic coordinates: 13’50” N, 88’55” W Area: (slightly smaller than Massachusetts) total: 21,040 sq. km land: 20,720 sq. km water: 320 sq. km Borders: Guatemala 203 km; Honduras 342 km; coastline: 307 km. Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands.

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau. Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m Natural resources: hydropower, geother- mal power, petroleum, arable land. Land use: arable land: 27 percent permanent crops: 8 percent

permanent pastures: 29 percent forests and woodland: 5 percent other: 31 percent

Source: CIA World Factbook 2015

with one another, triggering the shocks. An powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale struck El Salvador in January 2001, resulting in the deaths of more than 700 people. The following month, a 6.1- magnitude earthquake killed over 275 more people. Two Seasons El Salvador has a tropical climate that varies slightly from area to area and only because of differences in altitude. Average year-round temperatures range from 80º F (27º C) in Acajutla along the coast to 73º F (23º C) in Santa Ana in the mountains. There are two distinct seasons in El Salvador. The dry season occurs