Morphology of the territory
The Mayan civilization occupied a large territory that included southeastern Mexico and northern Central America. This area includes the entire Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Mexico and Belize.
The geology of the area contains geological zones of contrasting age and history. Some mountains in central Guatemala formed during the pre-Paleozoic period, while the limestone platform of northern Yucatán emerged from the sea in the Tertiary, hundreds of millions of years later.
Between these two events the area underwent continuous transformations due to land movements. The southern portion of the plateaus, in fact, is still unstable due to the numerous active volcanoes that form the continental divide. In this area there are large deposits of obsidian.
Towards the north of these mountains there are large Mesozoic limestone formations, which give rise to a rather spectacular mountain landscape.
This latter area marks the transition between the high parts of the Maya area and the great limestone plain that constitutes the Yucatan peninsula, a region known as the Maya lowlands.
Finally, the Tabasco plain and some parts of the Yucatan coast are formed by recent (Quaternary) deposits of alluvial or marine origin.
Hydrology
The northern part of the peninsula has no rivers, except for the Champotón River, all the others are located in the south.
The Yucatan Peninsula is bordered to the east by the Caribbean Sea and to the north and west by the Gulf of Mexico but is also rich in underground rivers.
Climate
The climate in the land where the Mayan culture lived presents marked variations. While in the highlands of Chiapas and Guatemala the predominant one is temperate, with an average annual temperature between 15 and 25° C.
The plains, being located at an altitude lower than 900 meters above sea level, have the warm climate characteristic of the so-called hot lands, with temperatures ranging from 25 to 23 °C.
Precipitation in the southern plains is high, averaging between 2,000 and 3,000 mm per year.
The rainy season begins in May, peaks in August and ends in January. In the north, rainfall is decidedly less, while in some places it reaches 950 mm per year, in others it is just 450 mm per year.
Environment
Flora
Since the Mayan territory covers a very large territory with a variety of climates, it includes many ecological zones. It hosts a globally significant diversity of plants. This is partly due to the fact that nearly 60% of the country is covered in forest, which is unusual for this region.
Typical vegetation
The Maya landscape forms one of the last uninterrupted stretches of hardwood forest in Central America, dominated by palms such as corozo (Attalea cohune), guano (Sabal morrisiana), and escoba (Chriysophilia stauracantha), hardwoods such as mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylia) and malerium (Aspidosperma cruentum), forming a key link in the Mesoamerican biological corridor. Its forests are also home to ceiba and sapote, as well as a wide variety of medicinal plants and orchids.
Fauna
The area is home to the richest combination of biodiversity in the world, with diverse species of animals found nowhere else on Earth.
Terrestial fauna
Among the various species of animals we find: jaguars, turtles, howler monkeys and various birds, such as the harpy eagle, vultures, hummingbirds and the scarlet macaw, all present in this critical habitat together with a number of species, including the frog of the Mayan mountains and the Mayan knot-tailed dragonfly.
sea life
Offshore, the strikingly turquoise waters are home to a great diversity of marine life, from dolphins and whales to colorful tropical reef fish, numerous species of sharks and rays. Belize is also home to the second largest barrier reef in the world, and its fisheries play a critical role in supporting local livelihoods for people living along the coast.