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@Honduras
Introduction Honduras
Background:
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.
Geography Honduras
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:
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: 9.53%
permanent crops: 3.21%
other: 87.26% (2005)
Irrigated land:
800 sq km (2003)
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 - interna
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