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40-1066: The Maya Lowlands are the largest cultural and geographic, first order subdivision of the Maya Region , located in eastern Mesoamerica . The Maya Lowlands are restricted by the Gulf of Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Maya Highlands to the south and west. The precise northern and eastern limits of the Lowlands are widely agreed upon, being formed by conspicuous bodies of water. Their southern and western limits, however, are not precisely fixed, as these are restricted by 'subtle environmental changes or transitions from one zone [the Highlands] to another [the Lowlands],' rather than conspicuous geographic features. The Lowlands fully encompass Belize,

80-707: A biosphere reserve ; it contains 302,702 hectares (747,990 acres), which makes it the largest protected wetland region in North and Central America and one of the top 15 wetlands (by size) in the world. The total length of the river, including the Salinas, Chixoy, Negro rivers in Guatemala is approximately 1,000 kilometres (620 mi). It is the only visible natural boundary separating the Yucatán Peninsula from Mexico. The river and its tributaries were important trade routes for

120-541: A geologically-active east-west band of peaks and valleys stretching from Tabasco in Mexico through central Guatemala and into northwestern Honduras, and generally topping 2,625 feet (800 m). Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 59–77 °F (15–25 °C) and 80–120 inches (2,000–3,000 mm), respectively. Wet seasons typically last eight months (May–December), with dry seasons typically compressed to four (January–April). The Maya Pacific, also known as

160-566: A hot, tropical climate. They are predominantly covered by evergreen tropical forests, which tend to grow taller and denser in the southern Lowlands, given increased rainfall in this area, compared to the northern Lowlands, which experience relatively less rainfall. The climate of the eastern coasts is made relatively warmer and more humid by the Atlantic North Equatorial Current and the Gulf Stream . The Lowlands have been deemed

200-477: A subsequent dry season of three-and-a-half months, from February to mid-May. Their terrain is predominated by low east–west ridges of folded and faulted limestone , covered by tropical forests, grasslands , and wetlands . Prominent bodies of water include the Hondo , New , and Belize Rivers and their tributaries, and a roughly 910 square miles (2,400 km) drainage basin in central Peten housing some fourteen lakes,

240-1073: A subsequent six- or five-month dry season . Their terrain is predominated by tropical forests in the south, gradually giving way to low bush-and-scrub forests in the north. Prominent bodies of water include Lake Bacalar and various cenotes . Prominent groupings of archaeological sites within the Northern Lowlands include the Northern Plains, the East Coast, the Puuc , and the Chenes sites. The Northern Lowlands generally encompass portions of Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo in Mexico. The Central Lowlands are generally characterised by relatively low rainfall and high temperatures, typically ranging about 80 inches (2,000 mm) per annum and 77–95 °F (25–35 °C), respectively. Their rainy season typically lasts eight-and-a-half months, from mid-May to January, with

280-543: Is 'one of the most varied environments on earth.' Its terrain ranges from vast sea-level plains to near-inaccessible peaks topping 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Its soils range from rich alluvial and volcanic types to poor karstic ones, resulting in vegetation ranging from lush to sparse. Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 59–95 °F (15–35 °C) and 20–160 inches (500–4,000 mm), respectively. Wet seasons range from six to eleven months, with dry seasons ranging from one to six months. Surface freshwater

320-468: Is cultural, first order subdivision of Mesoamerica , located in the eastern half of the latter. Though first settled by Palaeoindians by at least 10,000 BC, it is now most commonly characterised and recognised as the territory which encompassed the Maya civilisation in the pre-Columbian era . The Maya Region is firmly bounded to the north, east, and southwest by the Gulf of Mexico , the Caribbean Sea , and

360-522: Is readily available year-round in some areas, and virtually absent in others. Nonetheless, broadly speaking, the Region is described as featuring two geographic zones , namely, lowlands and highlands, with the former lying below circa 1,000–2,625 feet (305–800 m), and the latter above. Naturally, lowlands are predominantly found within the Maya Lowlands and Pacific, with highlands generally restricted to

400-427: Is thought to have 'involved [the] complex movement of [various] crustal blocks and terrains between the two pre-existing continental masses [ie North and South America].' Details of the pre-Cenozoic portion of this process (ie 170–67 million years ago), however, are not widely agreed upon. Nonetheless, it has been proposed that the northern Lowlands were subaerially exposed by some 150 million years ago. Details of

440-567: The Pacific Ocean , respectively. It is less firmly bounded to the west and southeast by 'zones of cultural interaction and transition between Maya and non-Maya peoples.' The western transition between Maya and non-Maya peoples roughly corresponds to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec , while the southeastern one roughly corresponds to a line running northwards from the mouth of the Lempa River to that of

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480-1020: The Sarstoon River , Lake Izabal , the Rio Dulce , the alluvial valley of the lower Motagua , and the Chamelecon and Ulua Rivers . Prominent groupings of archaeological sites within the Southern Lowlands include the Southern Belize Region. The Southern Lowlands generally encompass portions of Chiapas , Tabasco , and Campeche in Mexico, Huehuetenango , El Quiche , Alta Verapaz , Izabal , and Peten in Guatemala, Cayo , Stann Creek , and Toledo in Belize, and Cortes , Santa Barbara , and Copan in Honduras. The Lowlands are generally characterised by elevations below 1,000–2,625 feet (305–800 m) and

520-576: The Ulua River . The Maya Region is traditionally divided into three cultural and geographic, first order subdivisions, namely, the Maya Lowlands , Maya Highlands , and the Maya Pacific. The Region's internal borders, like some of its external ones, are not usually precisely fixed, as they are rather demarcated by 'subtle environmental changes or transitions from one zone to another.' Additionally,

560-513: The University of Florida , to identify the extent and types of habitat remaining the region, and to draw maps of the watershed. The conference addressed many of the jurisdictional and administrative questions that still bedevil the idea. The Zapatista Rebellion in 1994 and 1995, and the Guatemalan peace accords in 1996, reshaped the political lines in the watershed. As a direct consequence, and with

600-575: The 'most central [subdivision of the Maya Region] to the story of Maya civilisation,' with tentative estimates placing the region's population in circa AD 800 at 2–10 million, and 17 of the largest 19 ancient Maya cities located in the region. The Lowlands are characterised by a hot, tropical climate, and are thus traditionally known as tierra caliente , 'hot country,' in Spanish. The area experiences two seasons, wet and dry ones, with rainfall during

640-408: The 1980s, many Guatemalan refugees fled across the river to relative safety in Mexico. Other groups of refugees and Guatemalan guerrillas formed the so-called CPR communities in the jungle on the Guatemalan shores, hiding from the government until the peace accords of the nineties. Frans and Trudi Blom first brought the idea of conservation to the watershed in the 1950s by proposing that a section of

680-648: The Altos Cuchumatanes, the Maya Mountains, and along the Chicxulub impact crater. It is elsewhere blanketed by extensive Mesozoic sedimentary cover. Usumacinta River The Usumacinta River enters Mexican territory in the state of Tabasco and across the Cañón del Usumacinta (Usumacinta Canyon) ecological reserve, forming impressive canyons along its route. Passing the canyon called "Boca del Cerro", Tenosique ,

720-623: The Cenozoic (ie 66–0 million years ago) geologic history of Middle America, including the Maya Region, are relatively more widely agreed upon. In broad strokes, the Maya Highlands and Pacific are thought to have been subaerially exposed by some 40 million years ago, with these being initially separated from the northern Lowlands by the incipient Bay of Honduras . The Bay is thought to have closed by at least 20 million years ago, thereby finally linking

760-453: The Guatemalan department of Peten , and the Mexican states of Campeche , Yucatán , and Quintana Roo . They may further partially encompass a number of northerly Guatemalan departments , northwesterly Honduran departments , and southeasterly Mexican states . The Lowlands are usually subdivided either into northern and southern regions, or into northern, central, and southern regions. As with

800-899: The Lowlands, Highlands, and Pacific are often further subdivided along similarly imprecise lines, giving rise to a myriad roughly-demarcated second order subdivisions for the Maya Region. The Maya Lowlands are a low-lying karstic plain stretching from Campeche in Mexico through northern Guatemala and into northwestern Honduras, thereby encompassing all of the Yucatan Peninsula and its abutting plains (including all of Belize). The plain generally lies below 2,625 feet (800 m). Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 77–95 °F (25–35 °C) and 20–120 inches (510–3,050 mm), respectively. Wet seasons range from six to eleven months (usually starting in May or June), with dry seasons ranging from one to six months. The Maya Highlands are

840-543: The Lowlands–Highlands border, the boundaries of the Lowlands' internal subdivisions are not precisely fixed, being rather formed by gradual environmental or climatic transitions. The Northern Lowlands are generally characterised by relatively low rainfall and high temperatures, typically ranging within 20–80 inches (510–2,030 mm) per annum and 77–95 °F (25–35 °C), respectively. Their rainy season typically lasts six or seven months during June–December, with

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880-426: The Maya Highlands. The Maya Region is generally described as having two climes, a cool, temperate one (prevalent in highlands), and a hot, tropical one (prevalent in lowlands). Each of these experiences two seasons, a wet one, and a dry one. Rainfall in the wet season is usually heaviest during June and October, and is thereby described as 'following a double-peaked distribution.' Scholars had 'usually assumed that

920-428: The Maya Lowlands extending over a period of 3,500 years.' These have revealed, for instance, particularly severe or prolonged droughts during AD 200–300, 420, 820–870, 930, and 1020–1100, some of which are thought to have played a part in the collapse of various ancient cities. The Lowlands are thought to fully or partially encompass at least eleven geologic provinces. Notably, the northern and central Lowlands 'encompass

960-570: The Motagua–Polochic Fault Zone to the south. In the northern and central Lowlands, encompassed within the Yucatán Platform, mean crustal thickness increases from 12–16 miles (20–25 km) in the north to 19–25 miles (30–40 km) in the south. These portions of the Lowlands are blanketed by a carbonate sedimentary cover reaching a mean thickness of up to some 4 miles (6 km). Maya Region cf The Maya Region

1000-573: The Pacific Coastal Plain, is a fertile volcanic-sedimentary plain stretching along the Pacific coast from Chiapas in Mexico through southern Guatemala and into western El Salvador. Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 77–95 °F (25–35 °C) and 80–120 inches (2,000–3,000 mm), respectively. Wet seasons typically last eight months (May–December), with dry seasons typically compressed to four (January–April). The Maya Region

1040-550: The Selva Lacandona be reserved for the Lacandon Maya. Their idea was as much the preservation of culture as of habitat, and this principle – that indigenous integrity and habitat are inextricably linked in the watershed – should help guide any future conservation planning. Conservationists working in the region, such as Nacho March, Ron Nigh, Fernando Ochoa, Roan Balas McNab and others, have all acknowledged and upheld

1080-777: The Usumacinta goes into the plain of Tabasco. Two distributaries, the Palizada River and San Pedro y San Pablo River , branch from the main stem of the Usumacinta and empty north and east into the Laguna de Términos . In Tabasco the Grijalva River flows into the Usumacinta River. This confluence is at Tres Brazos, Centla , and the two rivers form a large wetland region known as the Pantanos de Centla . The pantanos (wetlands) are designated

1120-596: The ancient Maya civilization . Yaxchilan and Piedras Negras , two of the most powerful cities of the Maya Classic Period , lie along its banks. Before roads, such as the Border Highway constructed by the Mexican Government in the early 1990s, penetrated the jungle, the river was the only means of travel in this region. Huge trunks of hardwood trees were floated downriver to the state of Tabasco . In

1160-455: The climatic conditions which now [2010s] prevail in the Maya [Region] have always been the same, all through Maya prehistory and history[; b]ut recent palaeoclimatic research has challenged this assumption, revealing far more climatic fluctuation that previously anticipated.' Middle America, including the Maya Region, is thought to have taken shape sometime after 170 million years ago. Its formation

1200-519: The dramatic fall of the peso, bandits began robbing raft trips, ending wilderness tourism in the corridor. One of the most promising tourist activities, with the least potential impact and the most possibility for helping conservation, archaeology, and cultural preservation, ended. Illegal activity of all types took over the corridor. The Mexican army, which pervaded the Zapatista region, had little effect on river crime, and may have abetted it. In Guatemala,

1240-492: The dry season compressed to three months or fewer, with the latter typically occurring during March–May. Their terrain ranges from broken karst topography, predominated by rain-forest and limestone formations, to low-lying coastal topography, predominated by swamps . Prominent bodies of water within the Southern Lowlands, which often feature relatively deep and fertile soils, include the Usumacinta River and its tributaries,

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1280-826: The largest of which is Lake Peten Itza . Prominent groupings of archaeological sites within the Central Lowlands include the Belize River Valley and the Central Peten Lakes. The Central Lowlands generally encompass portions of Peten in Guatemala, Campeche and Quintana Roo in Mexico, and Cayo , Belize [District] , Orange Walk , and Corozal in Belize. The Southern Lowlands are generally characterised by relatively high rainfall and temperatures, typically ranging within 80–120 inches (2,000–3,000 mm) per annum and 77–95 °F (25–35 °C), respectively. Their rainy season ranges between nine and eleven months, with

1320-787: The most extensive karstlands of the North American continent' i.e. the Yucatán Platform . The Lowlands are believed to fully or partially comprehend at least four sedimentary basins. The Lowlands lie wholly within the Maya Block of the North American Plate. They notably house the Ticul Fault to the north, the Rio Hondo, Yucatán Channel, and Maya Mountain Faults to the east, and a portion of

1360-710: The neighbouring Chortis Block of the Caribbean Plate . The Region notably houses the active Motagua–Polochic Fault Zone in the south, part of the Central American Volcanic Front in the southwest, and further borders the Eastern Mexican Transform to the west. The Maya Region's pre-Mesozoic crystalline basement is only exposed in the Mixtequita or Guichicovi Complex, the Chiapas Massif,

1400-550: The northern and southern portions of the Maya Region together. The Maya Region is thought to fully or partially encompass at least fourteen geologic provinces. The Maya Region is believed to fully or partially comprehend at least five sedimentary basins. The majority of the Maya Region sits on the Maya Block of the North American Plate , though its southernmost extremes extend beyond this crustal fragment into

1440-504: The outcry from conservationists, archeologists, writers, and the public helped. It also established a pattern. A thriving seasonal business in wilderness tourism began after the Wilkerson article. The river and its environs became a favorite destination of river travelers, amateur Mayanists and archaeologists, birders and wildlife tourists. Carlos Salinas de Gortari proposed a smaller but still monumental hydro project in 1990, and completed

1480-654: The periferico surrounding the Montes Azules reserve. Articles in The New York Times and op-ed pieces by Homero Aridjis suggesting a binational reserve for the area, helped defeat this incarnation of the idea. In the late 1990s, a consortium of scientists, and government and non-governmental organizations met in San Cristóbal de las Casas , under the auspices of the Wildlife Conservation Society and

1520-673: The principle in their work. The first large hydroelectric project on the Usumacinta in "Boca del Cerro" , Tenosique , Tabasco, was proposed in the 1980s, and would have stretched all the way up the Pasion and Lacantun tributaries, flooding Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan, among other known and unknown Maya sites. At that time, the Guatemalan shore was held by rebels, whose presence discouraged illegal logging , poaching, and looting. It also discouraged dam engineers. In 1985 Jefferey Wilkerson's groundbreaking article in National Geographic brought

1560-539: The river and its glories to widespread public consciousness for the first time. Additionally, the Guatemalan journalist Victor Perera wrote about the river in The Nation and in his books, The Last Lords of Palenque and Unfinished Conquest , and Jan de Vos chronicled the region in his magisterial series of histories. Ultimately the hydro project failed under the weight of its own disincentives: siltation, geology, seismic activity, distance from markets, politics, etc., but

1600-657: The wet season usually peaking in June and October. Mean annual rainfall typically ranges within 20–120 inches (510–3,050 mm), with temperatures typically within 77–95 °F (25–35 °C). Scholars have traditionally assumed that the Lowlands' present-day climate had 'always been the same, all through Maya prehistory and history,' but palaeoclimatic research has 'challenged this assumption, revealing far more climatic fluctuation than previously anticipated.' In particular, climate proxies from Quintana Rooan lakes and Belizean caves have provided 'a continuous record of climate changes for

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