1. Guatemaladefined:The origin of the nameGuatemala is Indian, butits derivation andmeaning areundetermined. Some holdthat the name Guatemalameans land of the trees inthe Maya-Tolteclanguage.

2. Interesing andimportant facts Area: 108,889 sq kmDemocratic(42,042 sq miles)...slightlysmaller than Tennessee Independence day is September 15thPopulation: 14,655,189(July 2005 est.) 1821 Oscar Perdomo is the Capital City: GuatemalaCity Pres. Theres about Language: Spanish and21 major Mayan 400,000 internet userslanguagesin the country! 3. LOCATION Guatemala is locatedin Central America. Itis betweenMexico, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador.The Capital of thiscountry is Guatemalacity which is where mymother was born. 4. THE LAND OF THETREES 5. SMALL BUT IMPORTANT!!! Guatemala has one of the most extensiveand diverse forest systems in Central America.The country is home to 1,246 known species ofamphibians, birds, mammals, andreptiles, and 8,681 species of plants. The mostimportant of these biota is the Quetzal whichis the countrys national bird. This beautifulbird is also the symbol of the countriesmonetary system and is in danger of beingextinct due to deforestation and poaching. 6. THE TREASURE OFGUATEMALA The Quetzal is the symbol of liberty in Mexico, Guatemala, Cost a Rica, and El Salvador, much like the Bald Eagle is to the United States. The Quetzals tail feathers are whatmake this bird so unique. Their tailfeathers can grow to be over 2 feetin length (thats about three timesthe birds body length!) 7. The legend of the Quetzal This famous bird has a long history, as it was the spiritual protector of the Mayan chiefs. It is said that the Quetzal would accompany them everywhere, aiding them in battle, and dying when they died. Legend has it that when Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado and his Spaniards attacked the Mayans in 1524, the Quetzal appeared crying out and pecking at Alvarado. At the exact moment when Alvarado pierced Tecum Uman [the chief], the sacred Quetzal fell silent and plummeted to earth, covering the body of the regal [Mayan] with its long and soft green plumes. After keeping a deathwatch through the night, the bird that rose from the caciques [chieftans] lifeless body was transformed. It was no longer the pure green of jade. Its breast had soaked up the blood of the fallen warrior, and so, too, became crimson, the shade of Mayan blood, as it has remained to this day (Maslow, p.19). 8. MY FAVORITE BIRD CONTINUED 9. SERIOUSLY,THIS IS BAD!!! According to an organization called Lisas Reef,earth at the present moment is nowexperiencing the greatest mass extinction ofspecies since the age of the dinosaurs, and thesixth in the history of the world. If we succeed in destroying the complexgenetic matrix that is the biosphere, then thingsmay really get strange, making the globalwarming effects -the monster hurricanes andtorrid heat waves -we are currently experiencingseem like the good old days (Lisas Reef). 10. REALLYREALLY BAD!!! Recently Guatemalahas been hit with astring of naturaldisasters. First, avolcano eruption thatrained ash and debrison Guatemala City.And on top of that, atropical storm hitCentral America amonth ago. InGuatemala, that stormtook more than 150lives. 11. Destroying the lungs ofthe world Today forest coversbetween a quarterand a third of thecountry, but this isfast disappearing.Between 1990 and2005, Guatemalalost 17 percent of itstotal forest coverand deforestationrates haveincreased by nearly13 percent since theclose of the 1990s. 12. There is hope Although the increasingdangers of deforestation and The largest protectedglobal warming has had a big tropical forest in Northimpact on the country of America, the 1.7 million-Guatemala, action has been hectare (4.3 million- acre)made to protect its biosphere.In 1990, Guatemalas Maya Biosphere Reservegovernment established the is Guatemalas lastMaya Biosphere Reserve tochance for preserving aprotect Guatemalas precious significant part of thepiece of the Maya Forest.forests that once coveredLocated in the Petn region of all of Petn. It is graduallynorthern Guatemala, the Maya gaining notoriety amongBiosphere Reserve boasts aninternational travelers forastounding diversity of plantits vast expanses ofand animal life, hundreds ofMayan ruins and communitiestropical forest and thethat are managing the forest remote Mayan ruins thatresponsibly, ensuring itslie buried within.existence for futuregenerations. 13. Change The conservation of water, theyourself to prevention of litter, theplanting of new trees and thechange thestopping of deforestation areworld!!!!!all ways that can greatlyimprove the biosphere ofGuatemala, but also of ourhigh desert. I have reducedthe amount of water that Iwaste from learning about thesevere impact that humanshave on the world. Eventhough I havent had thechance to see these amazinganimals and the beautifulreservations that Guatemalahas to offer, I know that oneday I would like to. I will do mypart to protect theenvironment because I knowthat if I change myself and myactions, I can affect thosearound me. 14. SOURCES1. http://www.questconnect.org/ca_guatemal a.htm2. http://guatemalainpictures.tripod.com/3. http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20guatem ala.htm4. http://www.lizasreef.com/mass_extinction.ht m5. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.ph p?storyId=1274058786. source 6 http://www.rainforest- alliance.org/adopt/projects/guatemala