Gracias a Dios (; "Thanks to God" or "Thank God") 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. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

is divided. The departmental capital is Puerto Lempira; until 1975 it was Brus Laguna.

Etymology

The department is named in honor of Christopher Columbus's landing in 1521. He is reported to have said "gracias a Dios hemos salido de esas Honduras" when he departed this part of Honduras for the Nicaraguan coast.

History

Once a part of the

Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as Mosquitia, is a historical and Cultural area, geo-cultural region along the western shore of the Caribbean Sea in Central America, traditionally described as extending from Cabo Camarón, Cape Camarón to the C ...

, 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 A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

south. The department is rather remote and inaccessible by land, although local airlines fly to the main cities.

Geography

Gracias a Dios department covers a total surface area of 16,997 km² and, in 2015, had an estimated population of 94,450. Although it is the second largest department in the country, it is sparsely populated, and contains extensive pine savannas, swamps, and

rainforests Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

. However, the expansion of the agricultural frontier is a perennial threat to the natural bounty of the department. The department contains the Caratasca Lagoon, the largest lagoon in Honduras.

Demographics

At the time of the 2013 Honduras census, Gracias a Dios Department had a population of 90,795. Of these, 81.15% were Indigenous (79.70% Miskito, 0.95% Mayangna), 16.30%

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

, 1.58% Black or Afro-Honduran, 0.82%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and 0.15% others.

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.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 .

Municipalities

Ahuas Ahuas () is a municipality in the Honduran department of Gracias a Dios. It is served by Ahuas Airport. Demographics At the time of the 2013 Honduras census, Ahuas municipality had a population of 8,095. Of these, 94.46% were Indigenous (94. ...

# Brus Laguna # Juan Francisco Bulnes # Puerto Lempira # Villeda Morales # Wampusirpi

References

External links

U.S. Government Travel AdvisoryU.S. Passports & International Travel
Departments of Honduras States and territories established in 1957 {{Honduras-geo-stub