9781422286548

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El Salvador

most thinly populated region of the country. The Sierra Madre—a low mountain range of hardened lava, rocks, and volcanic ash—covers most of the highlands. Only a few small farms and ranches are located in the Interior Highlands. El Salvador’s largest river, the Lempa, starts in the Sierra Madre of the Interior Highlands. A major source of hydroelectric power, it drains the northwestern part of the country. Taking a course southward midway across the country, the Lempa cuts across an interior valley, the row of volcanoes, and the coastal plain before emptying into the Pacific Ocean, 200 miles (320 km) from its beginning. El Salvador also has three large lakes: Lake Guija, Lake Coatepeque, and Lake Ilopango. In total, nearly 150 rivers flow through El Salvador to the Pacific Ocean. Many of the country’s rivers, however, suffer from pollution. Some observers fear that at the current rate of destruction, the country will run out of drinking water in less than 15 years. El Salvador is the only country in Latin America without environmental protection laws. Volcanoes and Earthquakes El Salvador is dotted with more than 25 extinct volcanoes, many with craters showing ancient lava flows. Three other volcanoes are considered only “at rest” because they have shown little activity, but they do occasionally belch sulfur fumes. These volcanoes are San Miguel, Santa Ana, and Izalco. El Salvador is located in an unstable geological zone and suffers fre- quent earthquakes. Far beneath the ground, gigantic tectonic plates collide

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