Sipacate-Naranjo National Park is located along the Pacific coast of Escuintla

Escuintla

Escuintla is a city in south central Guatemala. It is the capital of the Escuintla Department and the administrative seat of Escuintla Municipality....

 in Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

 (13.919955°N 91.086473°W). The park includes mangrove forests, lagoons and sandy beaches and covers an area of 20 km long and 1 km wide, stretching between the coastal towns of Sipacate

Sipacate

Sipacate is a resort town on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, in Escuintla Department about 22 miles west of Puerto San José. It is promoted as a venue for surfing. Being roughly in the center of the Guatemalan coastline, it is used as a breakpoint for storm warnings...

 and Naranjo

Naranjo

Naranjo is an ancient city of the Maya civilization in the Petén Basin region of the central Maya lowlands. It is located in the present-day department of Petén, Guatemala about 10 km west of the border with Belize. It is located within the area of the Cultural Triangle of Yaxha, Nakum, Naranjo...

.

Mangrove species found in the park are white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa

Laguncularia racemosa

Laguncularia racemosa is a species of flowering plant in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae...

), black mangrove (Avicennia nitida, Avicennia germinans

Avicennia germinans

Avicennia germinans, commonly known as the black mangrove, is a species of flowering plant in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae.A. germinans grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and on the Atlantic coast of tropical Africa, where it thrives...

) and several Rhizophora

Rhizophora

Rhizophora is a genus of tropical mangrove trees, sometimes collectively called true mangroves. The most notable species is the Red Mangrove but some other species and a few natural hybrids are known. Rhizophora species generally live in intertidal zones which are indundated daily by the ocean...

species, including the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle

Rhizophora mangle

Rhizophora mangle, known as the red mangrove, is distributed in estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its viviparous "seeds," in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree...

). Transitional tree species include the Mexican palmetto (Sabal mexicana

Sabal mexicana

Sabal mexicana is a species of palm tree that is native to North America. Common names include Mexican Palmetto, Texas Palmetto, Texas Sabal Palm, Rio Grande Palmetto, and Palma de Mícharos. The specific epithet, "mexicana", is Latin for "of Mexico." It is closely related to S...

) and the guiana chestnut (Pachira aquatica

Pachira aquatica

Pachira aquatica is a tropical wetland tree of the genus Pachira, native to Central and South America where it grows in swamps. It is known by the common names Malabar chestnut, Guiana chestnut, provision tree, saba nut, Monguba , Pumpo and is commercially sold under the name money tree and money...

).

The park's beaches are breeding areas where several endangered turtle species lay their eggs, including the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), green turtle (Chelonia mydas), leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), and hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). Other reptiles found in the park are iguana

Iguana

Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena...

s, and freshwater turtles.

Over 90 bird species -both migratory and resident- have been reported, including a large nesting heron population (Ardeidae), cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae), pelicans (Pelecanidae), ibises (Threskiornithidae

Threskiornithidae

The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills. It was formerly known as Plataleidae. The spoonbills and ibises were once thought to be related to other groups of long-legged wading birds in the...

), plovers, dotterels, lapwings (Charadriidae

Charadriidae

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...

) and gull species (Laridae).
Bird species of special concern found in the park but which may be under threat in Guatemala, are:
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps),
brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis),
Great White Egret (Ardea alba),
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula),
Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor),
Green Heron (Butorides virescens),
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea),
Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius),
Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja),
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana),
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus),
and Least Tern (Sterna antillarum).