I sit atop three large tectonic plates and therefore I am a land of movement. I have frequent earthquakes, and I am covered with ranges of volcanic mountains. I have at least 25 extinct volcanoes and four active volcanoes. One of my active volcanoes was once called the "Lighthouse of the Pacific," because its glowing flares could be seen far out to sea. Some of the craters in my extinct volcanoes have now filled with water and become lakes.

My geology makes things pretty shaky here. However, it has also brought good things to my land. The heat from my volcanoes has been harnessed by people as a source of geothermal power to produce electricity. And the ash from my volcanic eruptions has made my soil rich and fertile.

Many of the people who live here today are farmers. During the 1500s and 1600s, the primary crop these farmers grew was cacao, to be turned into cocoa. Later, during the 1700s and 1800s, farmers switched to indigo, a plant that is used to dye cloth blue. Then, after artificial blue dyes were discovered and indigo was no longer needed, farmers began planting coffee. Today, coffee is my leading crop, along with cotton, sugar, rice, and beef. Unfortunately, much of my land has been deforested over the years; that means that trees have been cut down, making the soil less rich and less stable.

I have a tropical climate, which is not surprising since I am located in the Torrid Zone. However, temperatures grow steadily cooler as you climb up my mountains. It is rainy here during the summer months and usually dry during the winter.

I was first settled by humans over 3,000 years ago. The people who settled here adapted to my conditions. They created terraced farms on my mountainsides and grew many plants - including corn, beans, squash, avocados, chili peppers, pineapples, papayas, and cacao - that were well suited to my climate. They studied the movement of the sun, moon, and stars. They created stone and clay tools and utensils, using obsidian, a volcanic stone, for their spears. They built temples and pyramids in honor of their gods.

Over the years, the people who lived on my land began to trade with other people. They traded obsidian and crops, and used cacao beans for money.

Spanish explorers came to my land during the 1500s. They were looking for gold and other precious goods. I have some gold and silver, but not much. Even though they didn't find much gold, the Spanish stayed on. They founded my current capital city in 1528.

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Study Questions:

• What is the geology of your hometown? Use an encyclopedia or the library to learn more about the geology of the land where you live. Write a 1-page paper about what you learn.

• Copy down the words from the essay above that are written in bold type. Use a dictionary to look up their meanings. Write out the definition of each word.

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