Gracias a Dios Department

Gracias a Dios Department

Departamento de Gracias a Dios
Gracias a Dios Department Departamento de Gracias a Dios
Department
	Location of Gracias a Dios in Honduras
	Coordinates: 15°16′N 83°46′W / 15.267°N 83.767°W
Country	Honduras
Municipalities	6
Villages	69
Founded	21 February 1957
Capital city	Puerto Lempira
Government
• Type	Departmental
• Gobernador	Alberto Samuel Haylock (2014-2022) (PNH)
Area
• Total	15,876 km2 (6,130 sq mi)
Population (2015)
• Total	94,450
• Density	5.9/km2 (15/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CDT)
Postal code	33101
ISO 3166 code	HN-GD
	Statistics derived from Consult INE online database: Population and Housing Census 2013

Gracias a Dios (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡɾasjas a ðjos], Thank God) is one of the 18 departments (departamentos) into which Honduras is divided. The departmental capital is Puerto Lempira; until 1975 it was Brus Laguna.^{[citation needed]}

History

Once a part of the Mosquito Coast, it was formed in 1957 from all of Mosquitia territory and parts of Colón and Olancho departments, with the boundary running along 85° W from Cape Camarón south. The department is rather remote and inaccessible by land, although local airlines fly to the main cities.^{[citation needed]}

Geography

Gracias a Dios department covers a total surface area of 16,997 km² and, in 2015, had an estimated population of 94,450. ^{[citation needed]}

Although it is the second largest department in the country, it is sparsely populated, and contains extensive pine savannas, swamps, and rainforests. However, the expansion of the agricultural frontier is a perennial threat to the natural bounty of the department.^{[citation needed]}

The department contains the Caratasca Lagoon, the largest lagoon in Honduras.^{[citation needed]}

Crime

Gracias a Dios is known to be a place of relatively high crime. Due to its remoteness and the Honduran government having a relatively low ability to fight crime, trafficking of narcotics is common in Gracias a Dios. Criminal organizations are also common in the area.^[2]

Municipalities

References

^ "Consulta Base de datos INE en línea: Censo de Población y Vivienda 2013" [Consult INE online database: Population and Housing Census 2013]. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) (in Spanish). El Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). 1 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
^ U.S. Department of State (2016-08-04). Honduras Travel Warning. 4 August 2016. Retrieved on 2016-09-15 from https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/honduras-travel-warning.html.

External links

This Honduras location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[INE-1] "Consulta Base de datos INE en línea: Censo de Población y Vivienda 2013" [Consult INE online database: Population and Housing Census 2013]. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) (in Spanish). El Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). 1 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-13.

[2] U.S. Department of State (2016-08-04). Honduras Travel Warning. 4 August 2016. Retrieved on 2016-09-15 from https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/honduras-travel-warning.html.

[1]

[2]