Honduras Habitat Guide

Located in Central America, Honduras shares borders with three countries – El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua – and has a long Caribbean Coast in the north as well as a small coastline in the south west that is washed over by the Pacific Ocean.

Situated on a landmass beneath which four tectonic plates converge, its no surprise that the terrain of Honduras is exceedingly uneven, covered with craggy mountains. Not steamy by nature, these highlands are covered by pine forests in the lower altitudes, the vegetation changing to cloud forest and short trees as you move higher up. 

Though narrow, the coastal areas are heavily cultivated especially the Caribbean coast where most of the land is used for banana plantations. East along the Caribbean coast is the Mosquito Coast where tangled jungles form the largest rainforest in Central America. The islands off the Caribbean coast, the Bay Islands and the Swan Islands, are a part of Honduran territory. The remnants of the coral reef system that extends all the way from Belize along the Caribbean coast surround the Bay Islands.

Honduras is home to an amazing variety of bird and animal life. Jaguars, armadillos, wild pigs, monkeys, alligators, toucans, herons and kingfishers inhabit the country. Large-scale deforestation, however, is adversely affecting the fauna as it results in the loss of their natural habitat.