La Mosquitia is the easternmost part of

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 ...

along the

Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...

, which extends into northeastern

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 cou ...

. It is a region of

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

, pine savannah, and

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

that is accessible primarily by water and air. Its population includes indigenous and ethnic groups such as the

Miskito Miskito may refer to: * Miskito people, ethnic group in Honduras and Nicaragua ** Miskito Sambu, branch of Miskito people with African admixture ** Tawira Miskito, branch of Miskito people of largely indigenous origin * Miskito language, original la ...

, Pech,

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

, Garífuna, Ladino, and Creole peoples.Herlihy, P. 2001, Indigenous and Ladino peoples of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras. In:Endangered Peoples of Latin America: Struggles to Survive and Thrive. Ed. S.C. Stonich. Greenwood Press: Westport, CT. Pp. 101-120. La Mosquitia has the largest wilderness area in Central America, consisting of mangrove swamps, lagoons, rivers, savannas, and tropical rain forests. The

Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve is 5,250 km2 of preserved land in the La Mosquitia region on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. Most of the land runs along the Río Plátano. The reserve has a number of endangered species and some of Hond ...

, a World Heritage site, is a part of La Mosquitia. The Mosquitia region is part of the

Gracias a Dios Department Gracias a Dios (; "Thanks to God", or "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. History Once a part of the Mosquito Co ...

of northeastern Honduras, the second largest department of the country after

Olancho Olancho is the largest of all the 18 departments into which Honduras is divided. The department covers a total surface area of 24,057 km² and has an estimated 2015 population of 537,306 inhabitants. The departmental capital is Juticalpa, w ...

, with 16,630 km². Most of the territory is a very hot and humid plain, crossed by numerous streams and rivers, including the Plátano, Patuca, Waruna, and Coco rivers. The largest coastal lagoon in Honduras, Caratasca Lagoon, is in the region. It is shallow, with saline water, and is separated from the sea by a thin stretch of sand. Map of the disputed territory between Nicaragua and Honduras

Map of the disputed territory between Nicaragua and Honduras

The climate of La Mosquitia promotes the growth of a dense tropical forest, which is now set aside for preservation. The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, part of the so-called "great lungs" of Central America, covers nearly 7% of Honduran territory. It is home to a great diversity of flora and fauna. Among its many species are the

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inhabit ...

, peccary,

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

, manatee, garza (

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

), and White-headed capuchin (monkey). The population in 2008 exceeded 80,000 inhabitants, representing a population density of 4.8 inhabitants/km², the lowest in the country. The primary income of the population is derived from lobster diving. As of 1997, there was no tourism activity in the area. La Mosquitia is used as a route for illegal drug smuggling.McSweeney, K. and z. Pearson. 2013.Prying Native People from Native Lands: Narco Business in Honduras. NACLA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS VOL. 46, NO. 4. While the lush jungle rainforest is attractive for tourism, limited facilities and connecting transportation make it a challenge. The community-based-tourism project

La Ruta Moskitia Ecotourism Alliance The La Ruta Moskitia Ecotourism Alliance is a collection of six ecotourism enterprises which are owned and operated by local indigenous communities. The Alliance provides ecotourism products and services within the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve i ...

is trying to change that. On March 2, 2015, it was announced by

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

that an expedition into the region discovered a previously unknown ruined city. The expedition was seeking the site of the legendary "White City" (

La Ciudad Blanca La Ciudad Blanca (, Spanish for "The White City") is a legendary settlement said to be located in the Mosquitia region of the Gracias a Dios Department in eastern Honduras. It is also known by the Pech name Kahã Kamasa ("White Town"). This ex ...

), also known as the "City of the Monkey God", a goal for Western explorers since the days of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century. The team mapped plazas, earthworks, mounds, and an earthen pyramid belonging to an unknown culture. The team also discovered a cache of stone sculptures at the base of the pyramid structure. A paper published in 1999 located and mapped the site using

Synthetic-aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide fine ...

based on information obtained from local inhabitants during an expedition to the area in 1993. The ruins were again identified in May 2012 with the use of

LIDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

and subsequently explored in secret with the assistance of the Honduran military. The team documented the site, but left it unexcavated. To protect the site its location is not being revealed. Regions of Central America

References

{{authority control Geography of Honduras Gracias a Dios Department Miskito

See also

References