Republic of Honduras

Geography

Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea on the north coast and the Pacific Ocean on the south through the Gulf of Fonseca. The climate varies from tropical in the lowlands to temperate in the mountains. The central and southern regions are relatively hotter and less humid than the northern coast.

Honduran terrain consists mainly of mountains (~80%), but there are narrow plains along the coasts, a large undeveloped lowland jungle La Mosquitia region in the northeast and the heavily populated lowland San Pedro Sula valley in the northwest. In La Mosquitia lies the UNESCO-protected Biosphere of Río Plátano, with the Río Negro dividing the country from Nicaragua. See Rivers of Honduras.

Natural resources include timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, and hydropower.

Location:

Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua

Geographic coordinates:

15 00 N, 86 30 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area: Rank Order

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:

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 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: 9.55%

permanent crops: 3.22%

other: 87.23% (2001)

Irrigated land:

760 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:

frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the 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

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast