page_title: Outline of Nicaragua
section_title: Environment of Nicaragua
hierarchical_section_title: Outline of Nicaragua / Geography of Nicaragua / Environment of Nicaragua
caption_attribution_description: Satellite image of Nicaragua in March 2003.
context_page_description: The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nicaragua:
  Nicaragua – sovereign, representative democratic republic and the most extensive nation in Central America. It is also the least densely populated with a demographic similar in size to its smaller neighbors. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and by Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of the country, while the Caribbean Sea lies to the east. Falling within the tropics, Nicaragua sits 11 degrees north of the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere.
  The country's name is derived from Nicarao, the name of the Nahuatl-speaking tribe which inhabited the shores of Lago de Nicaragua before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and the Spanish word Agua, meaning water, due to the presence of the large lakes Lago de Nicaragua and Lago de Managua, as well as lagoons and rivers in the region.
  At the time of the Spanish conquest, Nicaragua was the name given to the narrow strip of land between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. Chief Nicarao ruled over the land when the first conquerors arrived.
context_section_description: Climate of Nicaragua
  Protected areas of Nicaragua
  Wildlife of Nicaragua
  Fauna of Nicaragua
  Birds of Nicaragua
  Mammals of Nicaragua
caption: An enlargeable satellite image of Nicaragua
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