Guatemala Geography & Climate

Guatemala is mountainous, with small patches of desert and sand dunes, except for the south coast and the vast northern lowlands of Petén. Two mountain chains enter from west to east and divide the country into three regions: the highlands, the Pacific coast south of the mountains, and the Petén to the north. All the major cities are in the highlands and on the Pacific coast; Petén is sparsely populated.

Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, four of them active — Pacaya, Santiaguito, Fuego and Tacaná. They sit inland of the Pacific coast for a specific reason: the Middle America Trench lies offshore, and the Cocos Plate sinking beneath the Caribbean Plate produces the volcanism. Volcán Tajumulco, at 4,220 metres, is the highest point in Central America. The highlands also lie along the Motagua Fault on the Caribbean–North American plate boundary, which produced the magnitude 7.5 earthquake of 4 February 1976 that killed more than 25,000 people.

The western highlands (Altiplano) hold Lake Atitlán and the country's highest elevations, while the north flattens into the Petén, a vast lowland rainforest that holds Tikal.

The Caribbean coast, around Izabal, is a comparatively small, humid strip, while the narrower Pacific coast is hot, low-lying, and less developed for tourism.

Guatemala's tropical location means temperature depends far more on elevation than season. The three regions vary in climate, elevation and landscape, and the contrast is dramatic: hot, humid tropical lowlands against colder, drier highland peaks.

Most of the country follows a wet/dry pattern. The rainy season normally runs from May to November — the same months as the Caribbean hurricane season — and the dry season fills the rest of the year. Heavy rain causes frequent flooding and landslides, and poorly maintained roads and bridges have collapsed.

Petén and the Caribbean coast see the country's highest humidity and rainfall overall.