Honduras:
Geography

Pages for other countries and territories

Other pages in this profile of Honduras:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a 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 leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.

Location	Definition 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	Definition 15 00 N, 86 30 W
Map references	Definition Central America and the Caribbean
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries	Definition total: 1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Coastline	Definition 820 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm
Climate	Definition subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain	Definition mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
Natural resources	Definition timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 9.53% permanent crops: 3.21% other: 87.26% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 800 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 95.9 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 0.86 cu km/yr (8%/12%/80%) per capita: 119 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast
Environment - current issues	Definition 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	Definition 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	Definition has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast

Honduras: Geography

Honduras:
Geography