Honduras'''Honduras''' is a country in northern Central America, bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the south west El Salvador, to the south east by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras and the Caribbean Sea. Belize (formerly "British Honduras") is 75 km away across the Bay of Honduras. {| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+<big><big>'''República de Honduras'''</big></big> |- | style="background:#efefef;" colspan="2" | {| border="0" cellpadding="2" style="text-align:center;" cellspacing="0" | width="140px" | Image:Honduras flag large.png|125px|Flag of Honduras | width="140px" | Image:Honduras_COA.gif|100px|Coat of arms of Honduras |- | width="140px" | (Flag of Honduras|In Detail) | width="140px" | (Media:Honduras_COA.gif|Full size) |} |- | align=center colspan=2 | ''National motto: none1 |- | align=center colspan=2 style="background: #fff;" | image:LocationHonduras.png |- | '''Official language''' || Spanish language|Spanish |- | '''Capital''' || Tegucigalpa |- | '''Capital's coordinates''' || {{coor dm|14|6|N|87|13|W|}} |- | '''President of Honduras|President''' || Ricardo Maduro |- | '''Area'''  - Total  - % water || List of countries by area|Ranked 101st   1 E10 m²|112,090 km²   Negligible |- | '''Population'''  - Total (2000)  - Population density|Density || List of countries by population|96th   6,249,598   xxx/km² |- | '''Independence'''  - Declared  - Recognised | (from Spain)   15 September 1821   1823 |- | '''Currency''' || Lempira |- | '''Time zone''' || Coordinated Universal Time|UTC -6 |- | '''National anthem''' || 'Tu bandera es un lampo de cielo' |- | '''Top-level domain|Internet TLD''' || .hn |- | '''List_of_country_calling_codes|Calling Code''' || 504 |- | colspan=2 | 1 Although not an official motto is sanctioned, "NO PASARAN" or "They shall not pass" became popular during the 1969 war with El Salvador. This making allusion to the Salvadoran stated goal to reach the Honduran Caribbean coast during their offensive. |} ==History== ''Main article: History of Honduras'' The Pre-Columbian city of '''Copán''' is a locale in extreme western Honduras, in the Copán Department, near to the Guatemala|Guatemalan border. It is the site of a major Maya civilization|Maya kingdom of the Classic era. The kingdom, anciently named ''Xukpi'' (Corner-Bundle), flourished from the 5th century AD to the early 9th century, with antecedents going back to at least the 2nd century AD. The Maya civilization decayed and by the time the Spanish came to Honduras the once great city-state of Copán was overrun by the jungle. After the Spanish discovery and subsequent conquest, Honduras became part of Spain's vast empire in the New World. The Spanish ruled Honduras for approximately 3 centuries. Honduras became a state in the United Provinces of Central America in 1821, and an independent republic with the demise of the union in 1840. The Football War of 1969 was fought with El Salvador. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras was used by anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Nicaraguan government and an ally to El Salvador|Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. Hurricane Mitch devastated the country and wrecked its economy in 1998. ==Politics== ''Main article: Politics of Honduras'' ''See also: President of Honduras'' ==Departments== ''Main article: Departments of Honduras'' Honduras is divided into 18 departments. ==Geography== Image:Honduras_sm04.png|framed|Map of Honduras ''Main article: Geography of Honduras'' Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea with its north coast and the Pacific Ocean south, by the Gulf of Fonseca. The climate varies from tropical in lowlands to temperate in mountains. The central and southern regions are relatively less humid than the north coast. Honduran terrain consists mainly of mountains (80%), but there are narrow plains along the coasts, a large undeveloped lowland jungle La Mosquita region in the north east, and the heavily populated lowland San Pedro Sula valley in the north west. Natural resources include timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, and hydropower. ==Economy== ''Main article: Economy of Honduras'' Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the American hemisphere, with GDP per capita at $US2050 per year (1999).. Under the presidency of Ricardo Maduro the economy has continued to grow slowly but the distribution of wealth remains very polarized. ==Demographics== ''Main article: Demographics of Honduras'' The population of Honduras is predominantly of Mestizo descent and Roman Catholic faith. ==Culture== ''Main article: Culture of Honduras'' The patron saint of Honduras is the Virgin of Suyapa. A Honduran can be called ta ''Catracho'' or ''Catracha''. The word is derived from the last name of Honduran General Florencio Xatruch, who lead Honduran armed forces in the defense of Honduran territories in 1857, against an attempted invasion lead by British pirate William Walker. The nickname is considered complimentary not derogatory. One of Honduras' best known writers is Ramón Amaya Amador. Oscar Andres Rodriguez is a Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal who was a potential papabile|candidate for Pope in the Papal conclave, 2005. ==Environment== The Mesoamerican region, the landmass that extends from Southern Mexico to Panama is known for its high diversity of species, and thus, often called a biodiversity hotspot. Like the rest of the countries in the region, Honduras contains a relatively high diversity of biological resources and indigenous cultures. For instance, it is believed that approximately 6,000-8,000 species of vascular plants are distributed across the country. The number of reptiles and amphibians species recorded so far is around 245; birds can be between 650-700 species, and mammal species are close to 110. In the northeastern region of La Mosquitia lies the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, a lowland rainforest which provides home to a great diversity of life. Sometimes called "The Last Lungs of Central America", this Reserve was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 1982. ==Miscellaneous topics== * List of Honduras-related topics * Politics of Honduras * President of Honduras * List of political parties in Honduras * Elections in Honduras * Liberalism in Honduras * Mara Salvatrucha * Garífunas * Garifuna music * Music of Honduras * Communications in Honduras * Transportation in Honduras * Military of Honduras * Foreign relations of Honduras * Soccer War * Flag of Honduras ''Note: Some of these articles are based on text from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the U.S. Department of State website.'' {{North_America}} Category:Central American countries Category:Honduras| ar:هندوراس bg:Хондурас ca:Hondures da:Honduras de:Honduras et:Honduras es:Honduras eo:Honduro fr:Honduras gl:Honduras ko:온두라스 io:Honduras id:Honduras it:Honduras he:הונדורס lv:Hondurasa lt:Hondūras ms:Honduras zh-min-nan:Honduras nl:Honduras nds:Honduras ja:ホンジュラス no:Honduras pl:Honduras pt:Honduras ru:Гондурас sa:हांडूरस sk:Honduras sl:Honduras fi:Honduras sv:Honduras zh:洪都拉斯 First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

This article on Honduras is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Honduras".

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