Guatemala

We just learned about the country of Cuba

Let's learn a little about the country of Guatemala!

This is a small country in Central America, that borders Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, the Carribean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
It is about 42,000 square miles, and about 17 million people live there.
People in Guatemala speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - guatemala)

The flag of Guatemala is stripes of blue, white and blue, with the country's coat of arms in the middle.
Blue stripes are for the Pacific and Atlantic oceans on either side of the country.
White is for peace and purity.
The coat of arms shows a Quetzal bird for freedom, and then a scroll that has the date Guatemala became free from Spain.


(from: wikipedia - flag of guatemala)

To eat in Guatemala you might have fiambre, which is a salad made from sausages, chicken, sandwich meat, corn, onion, beets, pacaya flower, cheese, olives, and other vegetables.


(from: wikipedia - fiambre)

Visiting Guatemala you might go to Tikal, which is the ruins of a Mayan city that is over 2,000 years old.


(from: wikipedia - tikal)

There are volcanoes in Guatemala, like the Santa María volcano that erupts sometimes and tourists go to see the active volcano.


(from: wikipedia - santa maria (volcano))


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Cuba

We just learned about the country of Honduras

Let's learn a little about the country of Cuba!

This is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, and borders the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It is about 42,000 square miles, and about 11 million people live there. In Cuba the people speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - cuba)

The flag of Cuba has a red triangle on the red, with a white star in it, and five sideways stripes of blue and white.
The red triangle is for liberty, equality and fraternity, courage and independence.
The blue stripes are for the three different parts of Cuba, and the white is for purity.


(from: wikipedia - flag of cuba)

To eat in Cuba you might have ropa vieja, which is a type of shredded steak stewed in a tomato sauce.
The name means "old clothes" and there is an old story of a poor man who was so hungrey that he tore up his clothes and put them in a pot to cook, and then prayed over them for food and it turned into this delicious meat stew.


(from: wikipedia - ropa vieja)

Visiting Cuba you might go to the Havana Cathedral, a church built in 1796.

(from: wikipedia - havana cathedral)

In the city of Camagüey, clay pots called tinajon are used a lot to help get rain water to be used later.
There is an old legend that if you drink water from one of these clay pots, you will fall in love with a girl from Camagüey and never leave the city.


(from: wikipedia - camagüey)


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Honduras

We just learned about the country of Nicaragua

Let's learn a little about the country of Honduras!

This is a small country in Central America, bordering Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
It is about 43,000 square miles, and it has about 9.5 million people living there.
People in Honduras speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - honduras)

The flag of Honduras are three sideways stripes of blue, white and blue, with 5 stars in the middle of the white.
The blue stripes are for the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and the stars are for the 5 other countries in Central America that once were part of a bigger country, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.


(from: wikipedia - flag of honduras)

To eat in Honduras you might have casamiento which is rice with red beans, usually served with a banana.

(from: wikipedia - honduran cuisine)

Visiting Honduras you might go to the Bay Islands and go scuba diving to see the fish and coral reefs.

(from: wikipedia - bay islands)

Long ago the Mayan people lived in Honduras, and there are still some old Mayan ruins and statues in a place called Copán.


(from: wikipedia - )


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Nicaragua

We just learned about the country of Yemen


Let's learn about some more countries in North America.

One country is called Nicaragua!

This country borders Honduras, Costa Rica, and both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
It is about 50,000 square miles and about 6 million people live there.
People in Nicaragua speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - nicaragua)

The flag of Nicaragua is sideways stripes of blue, white and blue, with the a triangle in the middle of the white.
The two blue stripes are for the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
The white is for peace, and the triangle is the coat of arms for Nicaragua.


(from: wikipedia - flag of nicaragua)

To eat in Nicaragua you might have vigorón, which is a cabbage salad with pork all wrapped in a banana leaf.

(from: wikipedia - vigorón)

Visiting Nicaragua you might go see the Somoto Canyon National Monument, which is a canyon that covers about 420 acres.


(from: wikipedia - somoto canyon national monument)

In the town of Managua, there are fossilized footprints that were left in volcanic ash and mud, and scientists think they are from over 2,000 years ago.


(from: wikipedia - ancient footprints of acahualinca)


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Chiapas

We just learned about the Mexico state of Guanajuato.

Another Mexico state is Chiapas.
This state borders the Pacific Ocean, and the country of Guatemala.


(from: wikipedia - chiapas)

The coat of arms of Chiapas is a shield with a red background, for the dangers of the past.
There are two cliffs, with the Grijalva river in the middle, for the justice of the state.
On the left cliff there is a lion with a castle, for heroism and strength.
On the right cliff is a lion and a palm tree, for victory and protection.


(from: wikipedia - chiapas)

There are ancient ruins from over 1,000 years ago in a place called Palenque.


(from: wikipedia - palenque)

Chiapas has some of the oldest fossils found in North America, with one building uncovered from 700 BC, over 2,700 years ago!

(from: wikipedia - chiapa de corzo (mesoamerican site))


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Guanajuato

We just learned about the Mexico State of Puebla.

Another Mexican state is Guanajuato.

This state is in the middle of Mexico, and does not border either ocean.


(from: wikipedia - guanajuato)

The flag of Guanajuato has the coat of arms on it, which shows a person in the middle holding a cross, to show the battles that the Catholic church had helped with for Mexico.


(from: wikipedia - guanajuato)

Mammillaria duwei is a species of flowering cactus, sometimes called the biznaguita.
The only place it grows in the whole world is in the state of Guanajuato.
These cacti are endangered and there are maybe only around 500 left in the wild.


(from: wikipedia - mammillaria duwei)

There is a museum called the "Museo de las Momias" in Mexico, that has Mummies on display!


(from: wikipedia - guanajuato)

There are ancient ruins from people who lived in Mexico long ago, in the town of Plazauelas.


(from: wikipedia - guanajuato)

There is an old convent called San Agustín de Yuriria, built in 1550.


(from: wikipedia - guanajuato)


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Jalisco

We just learned about the Mexico State of Veracruz.

Another state it Mexico is Jalisco.

This state is on the west coast of Mexico, on the Pacific ocean.
Jalisco has all different types of land, like forests, beaches, plains and lakes.


(from: wikipedia - jalisco)

The flag of Jalisco is blue and yellow, with the coat of arms in the middle.
The coat of arms has two bronze climbing lions with their paws on a pine tree, for victory.

(from: wikipedia - flag of jalisco)

In the town of Tequila, there is a volcano called the Tequila Volcano that erupted long ago, and the lava that poured out turned the ground there into a place where the agave cactus grows.
This cactus is one of the main ingredients for the drink called tequila, which is made in the town called Tequila.


(from: wikipedia - tequila volcano)

The state of Jalisco is where Mariachi music comes from.

(from: wikipedia - mariachi)

The biggest city in Jalisco is Guadalajara. It has many famous places like the cathedral of Guadalajara.
(from: wikipedia - guadalajara)


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Veracruz

We just learned about the state of Mexico City.

Another Mexican state is Veracruz which means True Cross.
The state is long and thin, bordered on the west by mountains and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico.


(from: wikipedia - veracruz)

The seal for Veracruz is a golden shield with a green top and a blue bottom, with a red cross on top.
On the cross is the word "vera" which means true.
In the green part of the shield is a castle, and in the blue below it are two columns with the words Plus and Ultra.
There are 13 stars in the gold shield, for the 13 provinces that were part of Veracruz when it started.


(from: wikipedia - veracruz)

The largest city in Veracruz is called Veracruz!
There is a large palace there that was built for the rulers of the state.


(from: wikipedia - veracruz (city))

The highest mountain in Mexico is a stratovolcano called Pico deo Orizaba.


(from: wikipedia - pico de orizaba)

El Tajín is a famous city where they have large pyramids from people who used to live there.

(from: wikipedia - el tajín)


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State of Mexico

Let's keep learning about Mexico States.

The most populated state in Mexico is actually called the State of Mexico, or "Estado de México" in Spanish.

So you could live in Mexico State and Mexico Country.

This state has the most people in it, and it is also the most densely populated, which means it is the most crowded, with 16 million people living there.
If this was a state in the US, it would be the 5th most populated state.
It surrounds Mexico City, which is it's own state.


(from: wikipedia - state of mexico)

The flag is just the seal with a white background.
The seal has the words "Patria, Libertad, Trabajo y Cultura" which means (Homeland, Liberty, Work and Culture).
Each word has pictures to show it's meaning.
Homeland: The Nevado de Toluca volcano, Pyramid of the sun in Teotihuacan, and a person dressed like an Aztec.
Liberty: A cannon with two crosses on it, for the Battle of Monte de las Cruces.
Work and culture: An open book for knowledge, with farms, a gear, sickle, shovel and flask to show the hard working people.


(from: wikipedia - state of mexico)

The Aztec people lived in the Valley of Mexico, where the State of Mexico is now, and there are many ancient pyramids and buildings from their time, in cities like Teotihuacan.


(from: wikipedia - teotihuacan)

One famous church from when the Spanish people came in and took over the land is the Cathedral of Tepotzotlan.


(from: wikipedia - tepotzotlan)

The highest point in the state is the Popocatépetl volcano, which is still active and still sometimes erupts!


(from: wikipedia - popocatépetl)


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Mexico States

We just learned a lot about the Canadian Provinces and territories.

Let's move on and talk a little about the States in the country of Mexico.

Mexico has 31 states, and one of them is the big city of Mexico City.

The states are: Baja California Sur, Colima, Campeche, Nayarit, Tlaxcala, Aguascalientes, Quintana Roo, Zacatecas, Durango, Morelos, Querétaro, Yucatán, Tabasco, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Hidalgo, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Baja California, Tamaulipas, Guerrero, Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Chiapas, Guanajuato, Puebla, Jalisco, Veracruz


(from: wikipedia - states of mexico)


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Yukon

We just learned about the Canadian territory of Nunavut.

Another Canadian territory is Yukon.

This territory has the smallest number of people of any province or territory, with only about 36,000 people in the whole territory.

It is up in the north west part of Canada, and borders with Alaska.


(from: wikipedia - yukon)

The Yukon flag is green for the forests, white for snow and blue for the lakes and rivers.
In the middle is the coat of arms, above a wreath of fireweed which is the flower of Yukon.


(from: wikipedia - flag of yukon)

The coat of arms has red mountains with gold discs, for the mountains in the area and the rich gold minerals in the area.
Above that is the red and white cross for England, with a disc in the middle showing a "vair" which is squirrel fur.
Above the shield is an Alaskan Malamute dog standing on snow.


(from: wikipedia - coat of arms of yukon)

The most popular job in Yukon is mining.
In 1897 there was a big rush of people called the Klondike Gold Rush, where people went into northern Canada looking for gold or other precious materials like silver or copper.

(from: wikipedia - klondike gold rush)

The highest mountain in Canada is Mount Logan, in Yukon.


(from: wikipedia - mount logan)

The lowest temperature ever in North America was at a town called Snag, where it got down to -81 F.

(from: wikipedia - yukon)


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