Geography of Honduras

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

See also : Honduras, List of places in Honduras