Period+6+Group+1

=Country Name: Nicaragua=

Group Members: Caroline, Emily, and Claire
media type="custom" key="333935"


 * || Social Groups- 20 individuals in one family usually. Over 90% of Nicaragua's population are members of Christian denominations. Approximately 73% of Nicaraguans follow the Roman Catholic religion with about 15% attending evangelical churches, around 2% are part of the Moravian Church and some 0.1 percent are joined to the Episcopal Church. A further 2% belong to a variety of religious groups including Jehovah's Witnesses.

Language- The official language of Nicaragua is Spanish. There are nine other __main__ languages spoken in Nicaragua. Seven of these are languages ones that are commonly used. Three of them are no longer used. There are ten used in total. They are Spanish, Gar�na, M�ito, Nicaragua Creole English, Rama, Sumo-Mayangna, Nicaraguan Sign Language, Matagalpa, Monimbo, and Subtiaba. The western half of Nicaragua are Spanish. They were colonized by Spain and speak Spanish for their first language on the western side. However, there are people from the other side of the country who were colonized by Britain. Those people speak English for their first religion.

Religion- They practice Catholicism in the western part (Spanish) of the country. In the other part of Nicaragua, Protestant is the religion recommended by the people. Still, more people in the country practice the Catholic faith than the Protestant one.

Daily Life-The national sport of Nicaragua is baseball. The menu that was present is still used today is a delicious mixture of soups, meats and sweets which reflects the mixed ancestry of the Creole people. One of the most important crop/ingredent of Nicaraguan food is corn. When the kids wake up they wash, dress, and feed themselves then they are off for a hard days of work. The girls clean, sew, and cook. The boys farm, fish, and hunt. Even though they have a hard day off work everyday they are always glad to listen to some music at the end of the day.

Art-handicrafts and trades, it has strongly lead to poetry over the years, it has little developed the fine arts, one of the most famous art markets in Nicaragua is the Masaya Market, hand-crafted goods, many of the local crafters work with kick-wheels to spin their clay making their skills unique and their ceramics better, mind gold to use for artworks, known for its crafts and art, dress, hammock, some leather goods.

6 photos-

||  ||

Land Forms-Nicaragua is bordered by Honduras, Caribbean Sea, Costa Rica and the Pacific Ocean
There are three main land regions: The Pacific Region, The Central Highlands and the Caribbean Region
 * The Pacific lowlands**-Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua lie here with a belt of volcanoes. This region gets about 60 inches of rain per year, the average temperature is 80 degrees fahrenhiet. **The Central Highlands**- the highest and coolest, its covered in forests and also has a rainy season. The average temperature is 60 to 70 degrees fahrenhiet. **The Caribbean lowlands** are a flat plain covered by rain forests with many rivers flowing through. The highest point in Nicaragua is located here. Its name is Pico Mogoton (6,913 ft)
 * Water Forms** Lake Managua (very polluted) Lake Nicaragua (largest body of water in Central America, home to the worlds only freshwater sharks)

Climate
tropical-very wet, humid, hot and rainy

Animals
puma, jaguar, anteaters, snakes, hundreds of birds, monkeys, crocodiles, turtles

__Current Issues- Emily__
History- Indians have lived in what is now Nicaragua for thousands of years. The first European to visit the region was Christopher Columbus in 1502. The first European settlements, Granada and León, were established by the Spanish in the early 1520s. The Spanish conquest was a disaster for the Indians. Hundreds of thousands of them died from diseases carried by the Spanish. Most of the rest were sold into slavery in other Spanish colonies. Nicaragua was a Spanish colony for nearly three centuries. In 1821 Nicaragua and other Spanish lands in Central America declared themselves independent. For a short time Nicaragua was part of the new Mexican Empire, and later it joined a union of Central American states. The union broke up in 1838, however, and Nicaragua became a separate republic.

Government- Many of Nicaragua's presidents ruled as dictators, backed by the army. The Somoza family took power in 1937 and ruled Nicaragua for 44 years, using their position to build a large fortune. In 1979 the last Somoza president, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, was overthrown by a rebel group, the Sandinistas. The group was named after César Augusto Sandino, a rebel leader who had been assassinated in 1934. The president of Nicaragua is Daniel Ortega. He was re-elected in 2007. Ortega earlier had served as the Nicaragua's president from 1979 to 1990.

Economy- Managua is the capital, largest city, and chief commercial center of Nicaragua. The municipality of Managua has a population of 937,489. Managua was severely damaged in 1972 by an earthquake that killed about 5,000 people and destroyed almost the entire downtown area. Coffee and cotton are Nicaragua's main sources of income. They are grown in the Pacific Region of western Nicaragua and in the Central Highlands. Not alot of people live in the foresty part of the Caribbean Region in the eastern part of the country.

Current Events- Today in Nicaragua, the Hurricane Felix death toll hit 130. The massave floods has run through many people's homes and lives. In other news, It has had a huge impact on the whole country. The famous Italian singer, Luciano Pavarotti, died at 71. He died of pancreatic cancer. His life was full of many wonderful accomplishments and extended his limits in Italian opera.

Pictures

Voicethread Story Workspace Bibliography