Department of Atlantida
The department of Atlántida is one of the 18 departments that make up the Republic of Honduras.
The department was officially created in 1902, from territories belonging to Colón, Cortés and Yoro. During 1910 the population of the department was 11,370 inhabitants, highlighting the town of La Ceiba, because in addition to being the capital, it had a large active population.
Origin of the name of the Department of Atlántida
Atlántida, a phenomenon of the Atlantic, an ocean that, like the Caribbean Sea, with its waters delimits the maritime border of the north coast of Honduras
Geography of Atlántida
The Department of Atlántida is located in the northern sector of Honduras. Limit to the north with the Caribbean Sea, where the department of Islas de la Bahía is located; to the south with the department of Yoro; to the east with the department of Colón and to the west with the department of Cortés.
Limit
It is located in the northern part of the country on the coast of the Caribbean Sea or the Antilles, it is a strip of land, not very wide and quite long. In the northern sector, and in the north-eastern region of Honduras.
Geographically located at: North latitude 15º 26′ and 15º 56′, West longitude 86º 22′ and 87º 48′
- North: Sea of the Antilles;
- South: department of Yoro;
- East: department of Colón;
- West: department of Cortés.
Protected areas: national parks, Janeth Kawas; Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge; biological reserve, Lancetilla and Pico Bonito.
Tourism: Tela Beaches, Barra Beach, Corozal, Los Chorros, Pintada Beach, Bonito River, Cangrejal River, Santo River, Sambo Creek and others.
Atlántida presents two distinct physiographic regions, one flat and the other mountainous. The first extends along the Caribbean coast, forming wide and attractive beaches, and its most notable coastal feature is the Bahía de Tela, whose extremes are Sal to the west and Izopo to the east. The mountainous region is comprised of the Sierra Nombre de Dios, on which stands the Pico Bonito, the highest point in the department.
The climate is tropical rainy in the coastal plain, the hydrological system is made up of the Ulúa, Leán, Cangrejal, Danto, Cuero, Salado, Papaloteca and San Juan rivers.
Economy of Atlántida
The department’s head is the port city of La Ceiba, the third largest city in the country after the capital city of Tegucigalpa, MDC and the city of San Pedro Sula.
Main economic activity: basic grains, plantain, cocoa, coffee, citrus, pineapple, African palm, banana.
Industry: foodstuffs, furniture, clothing, African palm, grapefruit, sugar cane, pineapple, coconut, rice, corn, cassava.
Commerce: main commercial center of La Ceiba, the Standard railway crosses the entire department, «Golosón» international airport.
Mines: gold, silver and titanium are obtained
Tourism of Atlántida
- Boardwalk in La Ceiba
- Tela Beaches
- barra beach
- corozal
- the jets
- painted beach
- pretty river
- Crab River
- holy river
- Sambo Creek
Municipalities of the department of Atlántida
See List of Municipalities of Honduras
- La Ceiba (Municipal seat) 0101
- El Porvenir 0102
- Esparta 0103
- Jutiapa 0104
- La Masica 0105
- San Francisco 0106
- Tela 0107
- Arizona 0108
Atlántida Model Forest
Location: Department of Atlántida, North Coast of Honduras
Year attached to IMFN: 2006
Model Forest Area: 440,000 ha
Regional Affiliation: Red Iberoamericana de Bosques Modelo
Forest and resource profile
The Atlántida Model Forest (BMA) includes the entire Department of Atlántida, on the North Coast of the country. The area includes eight municipalities and within them two important urban centers of the Atlantic Coast, La Ceiba and Tela. The relief of this area is highly contrasted: beaches and marshy areas predominate along the coastline, bordering on the Caribbean Sea, while the interior is more abrupt, coinciding with the Sierra Cordillera Nombre de Dios. In the area there are 13 types of natural ecosystems, predominantly the agricultural system and the broadleaf tropical forest characterized by its high biodiversity of flora and fauna.
Also in the Model Forest there are more than 200 traditional and non-traditional timber species, including some of high value such as Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), Cedar (Cedrus odorata) and Redondo (Magnolia yoroconte). It also has four protected areas and two biological corridors that are an important part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
Atlántida Soil Analysis
In Honduras, most of the soils have a mineral composition and their humus or organic matter content is usually low, except in the regions of broad-leaved or deciduous forests, typical of a temperate climate or tropical forest.
The soils of the department of Atlántida, from the geological point of view, are basically constituted by igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. and most of them belong to the classification of litosols soils, class VII agrological capacity, among which are: Yaruca soils and Diverse Classes of soils.
Yaruca soils: they are very well drained, shallow soils, steep relief with slopes of 60%. The altitude ranges from sea level to 1,000m, up to 15cm. It is clay loam to clay loam-silty, dark reddish, friabre, with a neutral reaction pH 7.0. In some places corn, beans and cassava are grown in the typical area south of La Ceiba.
Various kinds of soils:
Among these soils, fine-textured well-drained alluvial soils and fine-textured poorly drained soils have been classified. The areas of alluvial plains and the terraces or meadows adjacent to the rivers belong to this classification of soil. These soils are characterized by being loamy-sandy and are suitable for the intensive cultivation of corn, beans, cotton, bananas, sugar cane, oil palm and pastures.
The most extensive areas of alluvial soils in Honduras are located in the northern region. and in the department of Atlántida throughout the coastal region.
Political Representation of Atlántida
The department of Atlántida has a representation of 8 deputies in the National Congress of Honduras.
