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
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 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: 15%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 82% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 760 sq km (1998 est.)

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 - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast

NOTE: The information regarding Honduras on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Honduras Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Honduras Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.