At almost 50,000 square miles, Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America and is roughly the size of Alabama. Nearly one-fifth of its landmass is protected as national parks or nature reserves. Nicaragua is known as the land of lakes and volcanoes. Its three distinct geographical regions include the fertile valleys of the Pacific Lowlands; the North-Central Highlands, featuring the Amerrique Mountains; and the long-exploited Atlantic Lowlands, also called the Mosquito Coast. Climate change, flooding, earthquakes and soil erosion are primary concerns countrywide.