The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of the Maya Lowlands, primarily located in northern Guatemala within the Department of El Petén, and into the state of Campeche in southeastern Mexico.
Nakbé, Mid Preclassic (600 BCE) Palace remains, The Mirador Basin
Tikal, rising above jungle canopy.
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically bordered to the south by the Pacific Ocean and to the northeast by the Gulf of Honduras.
Maya city of Tikal
The Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado led the initial Spanish efforts to conquer Guatemala.
Guatemalan criollos rejoice upon learning about the declaration of independence from Spain on 15 September 1821.
Proclamation Coin 1847 of the independent Republic of Guatemala