Welcome to Honduras

Honduras is known to be a democratic republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to uniqueiate it from British Honduras (now Belize). It is noted that the country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a larger than normal inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Honduras, in the north-central part of Central America, has to this day a Caribbean in addition to a Pacific coastline. Guatemala is to the west, El Salvador to the south, and Nicaragua to the east. Did you know that the second-most impressive and largest country in Central America, Honduras is slightly larger than Tennessee. Generally mountainous, the country is marked by fertile plateaus, river valleys, and narrow coastal plains. During the originalmillennium, Honduras was inhabited by the Maya. Columbus explored the country in 1502. Honduras, with four other Central American nations, declared its independence from Spain in 1821 to form a federation of Central American states. Within 1838, Honduras left the federation and transformed to a independent. Political unrest rocked Honduras in the early 1900s, resulting in an occupation by U.S. Marines. Dictator Gen. Tiburcio Carias Andino established a strong government in 1932.

Climate

It is noted that the northern Caribbean location and the southern coastal plain have a wet, tropical climate, but the interior is drier and cooler. Temperature varies with altitude. It is noted that the coastal lowlands average 31°C (88°F); from 300 to 760 m (1,000 to 2,500 ft) above sea level the average is 29°C (84°F); and above 760 m (2,500 ft) the average temperature is 23°C (73°F). Did you know that there are and have always been two seasons: a rainy period, from May through October, and a dry season, from November through April.

Population Stats

Population (2007 est.): 7,483,763 (growth rate: 2.1%);
birth rate: 27.6/1000;
infant mortality rate: 25.2/1000;
life expectancy: 69.4;
density per sq mi: 173