Choluteca is one of the 18 departments ''(departamentos)'' into which

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

is divided. The departmental capital is the city of Choluteca. The

Choluteca River The Choluteca River ( es, Río Grande o Choluteca) is a river in southern Honduras. Its source is in the Department of Francisco Morazán, near Lepaterique (south-west Tegucigalpa), and from there it flows north through the city of Tegucigalpa, ...

runs through the department.

History

In the , the indigenous were engaged in trade in a vast territory encompassing the south of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

, parts of

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

. In the exercise of this industry they reached the South Coast of

, and founded the settlement of what is now the city of Choluteca hundreds of years before the Spanish conquest. Choluteca was created as a division of colonial rule from Guatemala in March 1535. Upon independence from Spain, the department of Choluteca was created on June 28, 1825, as one of the seven original departments in which Honduras was divided after independence during the government of the first head of state of Honduras, Dionisio de Herrera. Its borders were changed twice after the original partition. In 1843 the district of Guascorán was added to its territory, until then part of

Comayagua Comayagua () is a city, municipality and old capital of Honduras, located northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula and above sea level. The accelerated growth experienced by the city of Comayagua led the municipal authoriti ...

. In 1893 its westernmost part was split, with the creation of the

Valle department Valle is one of the 18 departments into which Honduras is divided. The departmental capital is Nacaome. The department faces the Gulf of Fonseca and contains mangrove swamps; inland, it is very hot and dry. The department covers a total surfac ...

Geography

Choluteca is the southernmost department of Honduras with an area of 4360 km². In 2015 it had an estimated population of 447,852 inhabitants. Chuleteca has many lands that are used for agriculture, fishing, sugar production, and shrimp farms. The head of the department is the city of Choluteca, which is located on the Choluteca river that crosses the department. One crosses the Choluteca Bridge to enter the city. Choluteca is bordered to the north by the departments of

Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a Central American politician who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president of Central America h ...

and El Paraíso, to the west by the Golfo de Fonseca and the department of Valle, and to the east and south by

Governance

Municipalities

Apacilagua Apacilagua () is a small town and municipality in the Honduran department of Choluteca. It is situated by road to the northeast of the town of Choluteca, in the northern mid part of the province, not far from the border with the El Paraíso ...

# Choluteca #

Concepción de María Concepción de María () is a municipality in the Honduran department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrativ ...

Duyure Duyure is a municipality located in the Honduran department of Choluteca. The municipality borders Nicaragua to the east, the department of El Paraíso to the north, the municipality of Morolica to the west, and the municipality of San Marc ...

El Corpus El Corpus is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''mun ...

# El Triunfo #

Marcovia Marcovia is a municipality in the Honduran department of Choluteca, on the Gulf of Fonseca The Gulf of Fonseca ( es, Golfo de Fonseca; ), a part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras, and N ...

Morolica Morolica is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''muni ...

Namasigue Namasigüe () is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ' ...

Orocuina Orocuina is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''muni ...

Pespire Pespire is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''munic ...

San Antonio de Flores San Antonio de Flores is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. Th ...

# San Isidro # San José # San Marcos de Colón # Santa Ana de Yusguare

Deputies

The Choluteca Department has a number of 9 deputies elected for the National Congress.

Economy

The department is, historically, a prominent producer of gold, silver, and copper. The region also had a cattle industry.

References

Notes

Departments of Honduras States and territories established in 1825 {{Honduras-geo-stub