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Guatemala's western highlands , stretching from Guatemala City to the Mexican border, are perhaps the most captivating and beautiful part of the entire country. The area is defined by two main features: the chain of awesome volcanoes that lines its southern side, and the high mountain ranges that dominate its northern boundaries, the greatest being the Cuchumatanes , whose granite peaks rise to over 3800m. Between the two is a bewitching pattern of twisting, pine-forested ridges, lakes, gushing streams and deep valleys. It's an astounding landscape, blessed with tremendous fertility but cursed by instability. The hills are regularly shaken by earthquakes and occasionally showered by volcanic eruptions. Of the thirteen cones that loom over the western highlands, three volcanoes are still active: Pacaya, Fuego and Santiaguito . Two major fault lines also cut through the area, making earthquakes a regular occurrence. The most recent major quake, in 1976, centred on Chimaltenango and left 25,000 dead and around a million homeless. But despite its sporadic ferocity, the countryside is outstandingly beautiful and the atmosphere calm and welcoming, with irrigated valleys and terraced hillsides carefully crafted to yield the maximum potential farmland. The highland landscape is shaped by many factors, all of which affect its appearance. Perhaps the most important is altitude . At lower elevations the vegetation is almost tropical, supporting dense forests and plantations of coffee, cotton, bananas and cacao, while higher up the hills are often wrapped in cloud and the ground is sometimes hard with frost. Here trees are stunted by the cold, and maize and potatoes are grown alongside grazing land for herds of sheep and goats. The seasons also play their part. In the rainy season, from May to October, the land is superbly green, with young crops and lush forests of pine, cedar and oak, while during the dry winter months the hillsides gradually turn to a dusty yellow.
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