geography of honduras

Geography of Honduras

Location:

In Central America Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. Guatemala lies to the west, Nicaragua to the south east and El Salvador to the south west.

Geographic coordinates:

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

total: 112,090 km
land: 111,890 km
water: 200 km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee and slightly smaller than England.

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:

Honduras is tropical in the lowlands and temperate in the mountains. The Pacific coast region is slightly hotter than the Caribbean coast.

Terrain:

Honduras has a mountainous interior, a narrow Pacific coastal plain, the Sula Valley in the north west running down to San Pedro Sula, a further coastal strip heading east until the large La Mosquita jungle plain in the North East.

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 km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:

Frequent mild, earthquakes, and damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast

Environment

There is a move out of the poor campesinos out of the countryside and into the urban centers. Deforestation resulting from logging is especially rampant in Olancho Department. The clearing of land for agricultural purposes occurs throughout Honduras but especially in the largely undeveloped La Mosquita region, and causes further land degradation and soil erosion hastened. Mining activities pollute the Lake Yojoa, which is the country's largest source of fresh water, as well as some rivers and streams with heavy metals. Hurricane Mitch cause severe damage.

International agreements

Honduras has signed and ratified agreements on 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, and Wetlands. Honduras has signed, but not ratified the Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol.