Geography: Honduras is the second largest of the Central American countries. Its mountainous mass lies across the isthmus north of Nicaragua, with Guatemala to the west and El Salvador to the southwest. The Caribbean shoreline runs eastward from the Guatemalan border to the flat and almost uninhabited Mosquito Coast. In the west are the historic ruins of Copan, a site of the ancient Maya civilization which ended long before the Spaniards arrived  in 1522. Gold first drew the Spanish to Honduras, and when they discovered it in the west, they founded the capital Tegucigalpa, in 1524.

Quick Facts:

Capital: Tegucigalpa

Area: 112,090 km²

Population: 7,989,415 (2006 estimate). Note: estimates for this population explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS. This can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.

Language(s): Spanish, Amerindian dialects.

Religion(s): Roman Catholic - 97%, Protestant - 3%.

Ethnic Group(s): Mestizo - 90%, Amerindian - 7%, Black - 2%, White - 1%.

Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

Natural Hazards: Frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes. Extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast

Current environmental 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

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

Bishop of Honduras: The Rt Reverend Lloyd Allen

SAMS Canada Mission Partners & Projects:

Kara Thompson & Nelson Mejia, Roatan

The El Paraiso Project