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Honduras vs. Guatemala

Geography

HondurasGuatemala
LocationCentral America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and NicaraguaCentral America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize
Geographic coordinates15 00 N, 86 30 W15 30 N, 90 15 W
Map referencesCentral America and the CaribbeanCentral America and the Caribbean
Areatotal: 112,090 sq km

land: 111,890 sq km

water: 200 sq km
total: 108,889 sq km

land: 107,159 sq km

water: 1,730 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly larger than Tennesseeslightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundariestotal: 1,575 km

border countries (3): Guatemala 244 km, El Salvador 391 km, Nicaragua 940 km
total: 1,667 km

border countries (4): Belize 266 km, El Salvador 199 km, Honduras 244 km, Mexico 958 km
Coastline823 km (Caribbean Sea 669 km, Gulf of Fonseca 163 km)400 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climatesubtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountainstropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
Terrainmostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plainstwo east-west trending mountain chains divide the country into three regions: the mountainous highlands, the Pacific coast south of mountains, and the vast northern Peten lowlands
Elevation extremeshighest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 684 m
highest point: Volcan Tajumulco (highest point in Central America) 4,220 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 759 m
Natural resourcestimber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropowerpetroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower
Land useagricultural land: 28.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 9.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 15.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 45.3% (2018 est.)

other: 25.9% (2018 est.)
agricultural land: 41.2% (2018 est.)

arable land: 14.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 8.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 18.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 33.6% (2018 est.)

other: 25.2% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land900 sq km (2012)3,375 sq km (2012)
Natural hazardsfrequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast

numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms

volcanism: significant volcanic activity in the Sierra Madre range; Santa Maria (3,772 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Pacaya (2,552 m), which erupted in May 2010 causing an ashfall on Guatemala City and prompting evacuations, is one of the country's most active volcanoes with frequent eruptions since 1965; other historically active volcanoes include Acatenango, Almolonga, Atitlan, Fuego, and Tacana; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Environment - current issuesurban 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 metalsdeforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - notehas only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast

note 1: despite having both eastern and western coastlines (Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean respectively), there are no natural harbors on the west coast

note 2: Guatemala is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

Total renewable water resources92.164 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)127.91 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributionmost residents live in the mountainous western half of the country; unlike other Central American nations, Honduras is the only one with an urban population that is distributed between two large centers - the capital of Tegucigalpa and the city of San Pedro Sula; the Rio Ulua valley in the north is the only densely populated lowland areathe vast majority of the populace resides in the southern half of the country, particularly in the mountainous regions; more than half of the population lives in rural areas

Source: CIA Factbook