Country Guide

Nicaragua is the largest of the seven countries of Central America whose weather and climate are described in more detail in the Panama pages. Nicaragua is about as large as England or the state of Michigan and is situated between 11° and 15°N.

It is not quite as mountainous as some countries of this region, but there are mountains rising to between 1,500-2,100 m/5,000-7,000 ft. Most of the country is thus included in the two zones of the tierra caliente, the hot tropical lowland, and the tierra templada, the cooler hill region with a larger daily range of temperature.

The table for Managua, the capital, is representative of conditions at low levels on the Pacific side of the country.

There are very few reliable climatic statistics for the whole country; but, as a general guide, it can be assumed that the table for San José in Costa Rica is representative of the cooler tierra templada in Nicaragua.

Conditions on the Caribbean coast would be similar to those shown by the table for Belize City in Belize as regards temperature. The east coast of Nicaragua, however, is one of the wettest parts of Central America with an annual rainfall of between 2,500-3,750 mm/100-150 in.