Amerrisque Mountains facts for kids
The Amerrisque Mountains (also called Spanish: Serranías de Amerrisque or Spanish: Cordillera de Amerrisque) are a long mountain range in Nicaragua. They are like the backbone of the country! These mountains are part of a bigger chain that stretches about 700 km (435 miles) from Honduras in the northwest to Costa Rica in the southwest. They even get close to the Caribbean Sea. Sometimes, the central part of the Amerrisque Mountains is also called the Cordillera Chontaleña.
The name Amerrique comes from the Mayan people. It means "the country of the wind" or "the country where the wind blows constantly." The mountains are named after the Amerrisque tribe, who used to be very powerful. These mountains are found between Juigalpa and Libertad in the Chontales Department of Nicaragua. They also separate Lake Nicaragua from the Mosquito Coast.
Geography and Rivers
The Amerrisque Mountains are a major divide in Nicaragua. They have some tall peaks, like Pataste (1,736 meters or 5,695 feet) in the Madriz Region and Quiabuc (1,604 meters or 5,262 feet) in the Estelí Region.
These mountains are also the source of many important rivers, such as the Segovia River (775 km or 482 miles long) and the Siquia-Escondido River (207 km or 129 miles long). Other rivers, like the Grande River (500 km or 311 miles long), flow through the range, even if they start somewhere else. The Amerrisques also separate the big lakes of Western Nicaragua, Xolotlán and Cocibolca, from the Mosquito Coast in Eastern Nicaragua.
Plants and Animals
The Amerrisque Mountains have many different kinds of plants because of their location and height. You can find plants that grow in cooler, higher places near Honduras, and tropical plants closer to Costa Rica.
- Some unique trees found here include:
* madroño * espavel * chilamate
- You can also find trees common in North America, like:
* pine * oak * sweetgum
- And trees from South America, such as:
* gumtree * mahogany * rosewood
The mountains are home to many animals too!
- Some of the mammals you might see are:
* mountain lions * coyotes * ocelots * deer * tapirs * anteaters * armadillos
- Birds include:
* quetzals * guardabarrancos (Nicaragua's national bird) * toucans * harpy eagles * great owls * roadrunners
- And some reptiles like:
* rattlesnakes * coral snakes * fer-de-lance snakes
The northern parts of the mountains have pine or oak forests. The central parts have forests that change from dry to rainy, and also areas for cattle ranching. The southern parts, near the San Juan River, are covered in thick jungles.
Cities Nearby
Some important cities are located near the Amerrisque Mountains:
- Estelí (about 210,000 people) is a center for culture and manufacturing.
- Juigalpa (about 110,000 people) is known for its cattle ranching.
Origin of the Name America
Did you know that some people believe the name for the entire continent of America might come from the Amerrisque Mountains?
- In 1872, a Peruvian writer named Ricardo Palma wrote that he thought the name "America" came from these mountains. He said that the name was already being used by people even before Christopher Columbus arrived.
- An English geologist named Thomas Belt also suggested this idea in his book The Naturalist in Nicaragua (1874).
- Later, a French-American geologist named Jules Marcou supported Belt's idea in his own work in 1875. Belt had worked as an engineer in the gold mines of Chontales, near the Amerrisque Mountains, from 1868 to 1871.
- The Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana (a large encyclopedia from 1907) also suggested that Columbus might have heard the name Amerrisque from the Rama people. These people lived near what is now Bluefields and might have come from areas closer to the Amerrisque Mountains.
- A Nicaraguan archaeologist, Jorge Espinosa, also believes the Amerrisques gave their name to the Western Hemisphere. He based his idea on old maps drawn by John Cabot in 1497. These maps supposedly showed the name Amerrisque five years before Columbus even reached Nicaragua in 1502.
See also
In Spanish: Cordillera de Amerrisque para niños
