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Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between
Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between
El Salvador and Nicaragua
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 86 30 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua
922 km
Coastline: 820 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200
nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc,
iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 15%
permanent crops: 3%
permanent pastures: 14%
forests and woodland: 54%
other: 14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 740 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes;
damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast
Environment - current issues: urban population expanding;
deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for
agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion
hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices
such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago
de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water) as well as
several rivers and streams with heavy metals; severe Hurricane Mitch
damage
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Background: Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World,
Honduras became as independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half
decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government
came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven
for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan government
and an ally to Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist
guerrillas.
Honduras
GEOGRAPHY
Size: Second largest country of Central America;
area of 112,088 square kilometers.
Topography: About 80 percent of country consists
of interior highlands, extremely rugged and mountainous with numerous
intermontane valleys. Long and narrow Caribbean lowlands widen in
northeast, with numerous narrow river valleys reaching into interior
mountains. Small Pacific lowlands along the Golfo de Fonseca.
Climate: Entire country lies within tropics, but
much regional variation because of mountains. Caribbean lowlands
generally hotter and more humid than rest of country. More temperate
conditions at higher elevations. Rainfall varies; Caribbean lowlands,
especially in northeast, wettest. Distinct wet and dry season in
Pacific lowlands and interior highlands. May to September wettest
months.
Data as of December 1993
Honduras
GEOGRAPHY
Location and Boundaries
Honduras, located at the widest part of the isthmus of Central
America, is the second largest Central American republic . The triangular-shaped
country has a total area of about 112,000 square kilometers. The
735-kilometer northern boundary is the Caribbean coast extending
from the mouth of the Río Motagua on the west to the mouth of the
Río Coco on the east, at Cabo Gracias a Dios. The 922-kilometer
southeastern side of the triangle is the land border with Nicaragua;
it follows the Río Coco near the Caribbean Sea and then extends
southwestward through mountainous terrain to the Golfo de Fonseca
on the Pacific Ocean. The southern apex of the triangle is a 153-
kilometer coastline at the Golfo de Fonseca, which opens onto the
Pacific Ocean. The western land boundary consists of the 342-kilometer
border with El Salvador and the 256-kilometer border with Guatemala.
Honduras controls a number of islands as part of its offshore territories.
In the Caribbean Sea, the islands of Roatán (Isla de Roatán), Utila,
and Guanaja together form Islas de la Bahía (Bay Islands), one of
the eighteen departments into which Honduras is divided. Roatán,
the largest of the three islands, is fifty kilometers long by five
kilometers wide. The Islas de la Bahía archipelago also has a number
of smaller islands, among them the islets of Barbareta (Isla Barbareta),
Santa Elena (Isla Santa Elena), and Morat (Isla Morat). Farther
out in the Caribbean are the Islas Santanillas, formerly known as
Swan Islands. A number of small islands and keys can be found nearby,
among them Cayos Zapotillos and Cayos Cochinos. In the Golfo de
Fonseca, the main islands under Honduran control are El Tigre, Zacate
Grande (Isla Zacate Grande), and Exposición (Isla Exposición).
Data as of December 1993
Honduras
Boundary Disputes
A two-centuries-old border dispute between El Salvador and Honduras
appears to have been resolved in 1993. At issue in this territorial
dispute was ownership of six contested bolsones (pockets)
of land encompassing a total area of 436.9 square kilometers as
well as two islands (Meanguera and El Tigre) in the Golfo de Fonseca,
and right of passage for Honduras to the Pacific Ocean from its
southern coast.
The origins of the boundary dispute date back to the eighteenth
century when colonial boundaries were ill defined. In the late nineteenth
century, numerous attempts at mediation failed to settle the dispute.
The issue continued to fester in the twentieth century and was a
contributing factor in the outbreak of war between the two countries
in 1969 . The General Peace Treaty, signed by El Salvador and Honduras
on October 30, 1980, in Lima, Peru, represented the first real breakthrough
on this border dispute. The peace treaty stated that the two parties
agreed to submit the boundary dispute to the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague if they failed to reach a border agreement
after five years of negotiations. By 1985 the two countries had
not reached an agreement. In 1986 the case reached the ICJ, which
handed down a ruling on September 11, 1992. Both countries accepted
the ICJ decision, and a commission was established to decide the
citizenship of residents of the bolsones.
Of the 436.9 square kilometers in dispute, 300.6 square kilometers
were granted to Honduras, and 136.3 were granted to El Salvador.
Of the six bolsones, Honduras was awarded complete control
of one and approximately 80 percent of another. The remaining four
were split with El Salvador. El Salvador was awarded possession
of the island of Meanguera, and Honduras was awarded control of
the island of El Tigre. More importantly for Honduras, the ICJ ruling
assured Honduras's free passage to the Pacific Ocean. The ICJ also
decided that the Golfo de Fonseca does not represent international
waters because of the two countries' shared history as provinces
of the same colonial power and subsequent membership in the United
Provinces of Central America. The court ruled, rather, that the
Golfo de Fonseca is a condominium, with control being shared by
El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The latter country also has
a coastline on the gulf. The decision allowed for the possibility
that the three nations could divide the waters at a later date if
they wished to do so.
Data as of December 1993
Honduras
Topography
Honduras has three distinct topographical regions: an extensive
interior highland area and two narrow coastal lowlands. The interior,
which constitutes approximately 80 percent of the country's terrain,
is mountainous. The larger Caribbean lowlands in the north and the
Pacific lowlands bordering the Golfo de Fonseca are characterized
by alluvial plains.
Interior Highlands
The interior highlands are the most prominent feature of Honduran
topography. Composing approximately 80 percent of the country's
total area, these mountain areas are home to the majority of the
population. Because the rugged terrain has made the land difficult
to traverse and equally difficult to cultivate, this area has not
been highly developed. The soil here is poor; Honduras lacks the
rich volcanic ash found in other Central American countries. Until
the early part of the twentieth century, the highlands economy consisted
primarily of mining and livestock.
In the west, Honduras's mountains blend into the mountain ranges
of Guatemala. The western mountains have the highest peaks, with
the Pico Congolón at an elevation of 2,500 meters and the Cerro
de Las Minas at 2,850 meters. These mountains are woodland covered
with mainly pine forests.
In the east, the mountains merge with those in Nicaragua. Although
generally not as high as the mountains near the Guatemalan border,
the eastern ranges possess some high peaks, such as the Montaña
de la Flor at 2,300 meters, El Boquerón (Monte El Boquerón) at 2,485
meters, and Pico Bonito at 2,435 meters.
One of the most prominent features of the interior highlands is
a depression that runs from the Caribbean Sea to the Golfo de Fonseca.
This depression splits the country's cordilleras into eastern and
western parts and provides a relatively easy transportation route
across the isthmus. Widest at its northern end near San Pedro Sula,
the depression narrows as it follows the upper course of the Río
Humuya. Passing first through Comayagua and then through narrow
passes south of the city, the depression widens again as it runs
along the border of El Salvador into the Golfo de Fonseca.
Scattered throughout the interior highlands are numerous flatfloored
valleys, 300 to 900 meters in elevation, which vary in size. The
floors of the large valleys provide sufficient grass, shrubs, and
dry woodland to support livestock and, in some cases, commercial
agriculture. Subsistence agriculture has been relegated to the slopes
of the valleys, with the limitations of small-sized holdings, primitive
technology, and low productivity that traditionally accompany hillside
cultivation. Villages and towns, including the capital, Tegucigalpa,
are tucked in the larger valleys.
Vegetation in the interior highlands is varied. Much of the western,
southern, and central mountains are open woodland-- supporting pine
forest interspersed with some oak, scrub, and grassy clearings.
The ranges toward the east are primarily continuous areas of dense,
broad-leaf evergreen forest. Around the highest peaks, remnants
of dense rain forest that formerly covered much of the area are
still found.
Data as of December 1993
Honduras
The Caribbean Lowlands
This area of river valleys and coastal plains, which most Honduras
call "the north coast," or simply "the coast," has traditionally
been Honduras's most exploited region. The central part of the Caribbean
lowlands, east of La Ceiba, is a narrow coastal plain only a few
kilometers wide. To the east and west of this section, however,
the Caribbean lowlands widen and in places extend inland a considerable
distance along broad river valleys. The broadest river valley, along
the Río Ulúa near the Guatemalan border, is Honduras's most developed
area. Both Puerto Cortés, the country's largest port, and San Pedro
Sula, Honduras's industrial capital, are located here.
To the east, near the Nicaraguan border, the Caribbean lowlands
broaden to an extensive area known as the Mosquitia. Unlike the
western part of the Caribbean lowlands, the Mosquitia is Honduras's
least-developed area. Underpopulated and culturally distinct from
the rest of the country, the area consists of inland savannah with
swamps and mangrove near the coast. During times of heavy rainfall,
much of the savannah area is covered by shallow water, making transportation
by means other than a shallow-draft boat almost impossible.
Data as of December 1993
Honduras
Pacific Lowlands
The smallest physiographic region of Honduras, the Pacific lowlands,
is a strip of land averaging twenty-five kilometers wide on the
north shore of the Golfo de Fonseca. The land is flat, becoming
swampy near the shores of the gulf, and is composed mostly of alluvial
soils washed down from the mountains. The gulf is shallow and the
water rich in fish and mollusks. Mangroves along the shore make
shrimp and shellfish particularly abundant by providing safe and
abundant breeding areas amid their extensive networks of underwater
roots.
Several islands in the gulf fall under Honduras's jurisdiction.
The two largest, Zacate Grande and El Tigre, are eroded volcanoes,
part of the chain of volcanoes that extends along the Pacific coast
of Central America. Both islands have volcanic cones more than 700
meters in elevation that serve as markers for vessels entering Honduras's
Pacific ports.
Data as of December 1993
Honduras
Climate
Although all of Honduras lies within the tropics, the climatic
types of each of the three physiographic regions differ. The Caribbean
lowlands have a tropical wet climate with consistently high temperatures
and humidity, and rainfall fairly evenly distributed throughout
the year. The Pacific lowlands have a tropical wet and dry climate
with high temperatures but a distinct dry season from November through
April. The interior highlands also have a distinct dry season, but,
as is characteristic of a tropical highland climate, temperatures
in this region decrease as elevation increases.
Unlike in more northerly latitudes, temperatures in the tropics
vary primarily with elevation instead of with the season. Land below
1,000 meters is commonly known as tierra caliente (hot
land), between 1,000 and 2,000 meters tierra templada (temperate
land), and above 2,000 meters tierra fría (cold land).
Both the Caribbean and Pacific lowlands are tierra caliente,
with daytime highs averaging between 28° C and 32° C throughout
the year. In the Pacific lowlands, April, the last month of the
dry season, brings the warmest temperatures; the rainy season is
slightly cooler, although higher humidity during the rainy season
makes these months feel more uncomfortable. In the Caribbean lowlands,
the only relief from the year-round heat and humidity comes during
December or January when an occasional strong cold front from the
north (a norte) brings several days of strong northwest
winds and slightly cooler temperatures.
The interior highlands range from tierra templada to tierra
fría. Tegucigalpa, in a sheltered valley and at an elevation
of 1,000 meters, has a pleasant climate, with an average high temperature
ranging from 30° C in April, the warmest month, to 25° C
in January, the coolest. Above 2,000 meters, temperatures can fall
to near freezing at night, and frost sometimes occurs.
Rain falls year round in the Caribbean lowlands but is seasonal
throughout the rest of the country. Amounts are copious along the
north coast, especially in the Mosquitia, where the average rainfall
is 2,400 millimeters. Nearer San Pedro Sula, amounts are slightly
less from November to April, but each month still has considerable
precipitation. The interior highlands and Pacific lowlands have
a dry season, known locally as "summer," from November to April.
Almost all the rain in these regions falls during the "winter,"
from May to September. Total yearly amounts depend on surrounding
topography; Tegucigalpa, in a sheltered valley, averages only 1,000
millimeters of precipitation.
Honduras lies within the hurricane belt, and the Caribbean coast
is particularly vulnerable to hurricanes or tropical storms that
travel inland from the Caribbean. Hurricane Francelia in 1969 and
Tropical Storm Alleta in 1982 affected thousands of people and caused
extensive damage to crops. Hurricane Fifi in 1974 was the worst
natural disaster in recent Honduran history; more than 8,000 people
were killed, and nearly the entire banana crop was destroyed. Hurricanes
occasionally form over the Pacific and move north to affect southern
Honduras, but Pacific storms are generally less severe and their
landfall rarer.
Data as of December 1993
Honduras
Hydrography
Honduras is a water-rich country. The most important river in Honduras
is the Ulúa, which flows 400 kilometers to the Caribbean through
the economically important Valle de Sula. Numerous other rivers
drain the interior highlands and empty north into the Caribbean.
These other rivers are important, not as transportation routes,
but because of the broad fertile valleys they have produced.
Rivers also define about half of Honduras's international borders.
The Río Goascorán, flowing to the Golfo de Fonseca, and the Río
Lempa define part of the border between El Salvador and Honduras.
The Río Coco marks about half of the border between Nicaragua and
Honduras.
Despite an abundance of rivers, large bodies of water are rare.
Lago de Yojoa, located in the west-central part of the country,
is the sole natural lake in Honduras. This lake is twenty-two kilometers
long and at its widest point measures fourteen kilometers. Several
large, brackish lagoons open onto the Caribbean in northeast Honduras.
These shallow bodies of water allow limited transportation to points
along the coast.
Data as of December 1993
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