Choluteca is one of the 18

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

''(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, Belize,

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 H ...

, 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 b ...

and Nicaragua. 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.

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 and El Paraíso, to the west by the

Golfo de 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 Nicaragua. History Fonseca Bay was discovered for Europeans in 1522 by Gil González de Ávila, ...

and the department of Valle, and to the east and south by Nicaragua.

Governance

Municipalities

# Apacilagua # 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 (administrat ...

# Duyure # El Corpus # El Triunfo # Marcovia # Morolica # Namasigue # Orocuina # Pespire # San Antonio de Flores # San Isidro #

San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...

# San Marcos de Colón #

Santa Ana de Yusguare Santa Ana de Yusguare () 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 (administrat ...

Deputies

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

National Congress ''National Congress'' is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures . Political parties *Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress *Guyana: People's National Congress (Guyana) *India: Indian National Congress *Iraq: Iraqi Nati ...

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