Location: Middle America, between Guatemala and Nicaragua

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 112,090 sq km
land area: 111,890 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries: total 1,520 km, Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km

Coastline: 820 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: land boundary dispute with El Salvador mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision; ICJ referred the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required

Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish

Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 2%
meadows and pastures: 30%
forest and woodland: 34%
other: 20%

Irrigated land: 900 sq km (1989 est.)

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 freshwater) with heavy metals as well as several rivers and streams
natural hazards: subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Tropical Timber

NOTE: The information regarding Honduras on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Honduras Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Honduras Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.