El Salvador, is the smallest Central American country in area. However, it ranks as the third largest country in population in Central America. El Salvador is a tropical land of rugged mountains, cone-shaped volcanoes, green valleys, and scenic lakes. The Pacific Ocean lies to its south, Guatemala to its northwest, and Honduras to its northeast. The majority of El Salvador's people are of the mixed Indian and Spanish ancestry. Most Salvadorans live in central El Salvador, the agricultural and industrial heartland. San Salvador, the capital and largest city, lies in this region. More than half the people are farmers. Coffee is El Salvador's leading crop. More than 90 percent of all Salvadorans are mestizos (people of mixed Indian and white descent). Nearly 5 percent are of unmixed white ancestry, and most of the rest are Indians. The pure-blooded Indians of El Salvador are mostly descended from the Pipil Indians, the dominant tribe in the area when the Spanish conquerors arrived. Approximately 80 percent of Salvadorans, including most Indians, are members of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church plays an active role in the ongoing struggle for social justice in El Salvador. El Salvador consists of three main land regions. The regions are, from south to north, (1) the Coastal Low lands, (2) the Central Region, (3) the Interior High lands. The Costal Lowlands consist of a narrow, fertile plain along the Pacific shore. Many factories and a fishing industry are located near Acajutla,  near leading port. The Central Region forms the heartland of El Salvador. About three-fourths of the nation's people live there, many of the, in such large cities as San Salvador and Santa Ana. The Interior Highlands occupy northern El Salvador and make up the most thinly populated region of the country. The Sierra Madre- a low mountain range of hardened lava, rocks, and volcanic ash- covers most of the highlands.

The World Book Encyclopedia, World Book, Inc., Chicago, 2004, pgs. 248-251