Mayan territory
included many different types of landforms.
Between 200 and 900 A.D., Mayan civilization spread throughout Mesoamerica and included parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and El Salvador. Because of this wide spread, Mayan territory spanned a range of climates, topography and landforms. From the tropical rainforests of Honduras to the highlands of Guatemala, Mayans developed their own dialects, culture and agriculture that reflected the landforms and lifestyle of their area.
Lowlands and Jungles
The most significant development of Mayan civilization occurred in the lowlands and jungles of Guatemala and Honduras. In the drainage basin of the central region, cities such as Tikal and Copan arose. This seems counterintuitive, given that while a tropical rainforest appears lush and dense, the soil beneath it harbors few nutrients. The Mayans practiced agriculture over vast sections of the rainforest, using "slash and burn" techniques that further depleted the soil and ravaged the topography. Despite the intensive labor, area farms probably supported no more than 30 people per square mile.
Highlands and Plains
The northern Yucatan peninsula consists of dry scrubland and little water. When the Mayans abandoned lowland cities such as Tikal and Copan, some of them migrated to the Yucatan. Cities such as Chichen Itza and Uxmal saw populations increase, as the immigrants adapted to the new environment. In the Guatamalan highlands, volcanoes grace the landscape and provide rich soil for farming. Atitlan, a volcano that gives its name to a lake, stands at 11,600 feet while its volcanic neighbor, Toliman, stands at 10,282 feet. During the Spanish conquest, conquistadors defeated the Tzutujils, a Mayan offshoot, in the shadow of these volcanoes.
Important Waterways
About an hour's drive from the ruins of Tikal, near the modern-day town of Flores, stands Lago De Peten Itza, or Lake Peten Itza. It earned its name from the Itzas, a Mayan group who populated the area. The lake measures a little over 3 miles wide by about 20 miles long and has a depth of 541 feet. As the deepest lake in the Central American lowlands, it is the subject of scientific study.
Other important waterways include Lake Atitlan, in the Guatemalan highlands, Rio Panuco, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico, and Rio Usumacinta, which crosses both Mexico and Guatemala.
Mountain Ranges
The Sierra Madre Mountains run north and south along the borders of Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental range spans the eastern edge of the Mexican plateau, an area of dry scrubland. Notable mountains in this range include Cerro San Raphael and Sierra de la Marta.
The Sierra Madre Occidental range runs along the Pacific coast of Mexico and harbors steep canyons and sheer rock faces. Copper Canyon, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon of Arizona, comprises a series of canyons lying in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range, lying in southern Mexico at the western edge of Mayan territory, boasts high-elevation pine forests.
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