Jessica writes about the Honduras. Honduras is in Central America. The capitol is Tegucigalpa. A shocking fact is there is no fast food
places there! NOTHING! No McDonald's! Nothing! They still have some good foods there like banana chips and
these pretzel shaped desserts that taste like cookies called roscettes. They are the tastiest things I have ever eaten!
There are two seasons in Honduras, the rain season and the dry season. The weather around there is hot when it is
winter in the US. It is the rain season when it is summer in the US. When it rains the water is so warm you could
take a shower. It is a very beautiful place there.
SpeedRacerSki wrote to say that in the Honduran flag blue stands for the Caribbean sea and Pacific ocean,
white stands for pureness, and the 5 stars introduced in 1866 reflect
the hope that the 5 states of Central America may once again form an association.
MadelineKat sent this in: Honduras is a small country located in Central America.
Its capital is Tegucigalpa. It is bordered by Nicaragua, Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
To the north of Honduras is the Caribbean Sea, and to the northwest is the Gulf of
Honduras. To the south, it is bordered by the North Pacific Ocean.
History
A millennium ago, Honduras was populated by the Mayan people when in 1509
Christopher Columbus explored the country. In 1851, Honduras and four other
countries declared their independence from Spain, and formed a federation of
Central American states. In 1838, Honduras became independent and there was much
civil unrest. This resulted in the occupation of the U.S. Marines. The dictator
General Andino established a stronger government in 1932.
In 1969, some Honduran landowners shipped several thousand Salvadorians back
to El Salvador. This resulted in El Salvador invading Honduras. This war was
sometimes called the 'football war' because it started at a soccer match
between the two countries. Eventually the Organization of American States forced El
Salvador to withdraw. In 1998 Hurricane Mitch killed about 5,600 Hondurans,
and cost almost $1billion in damages. It left about 2 million people homeless.
Currently, the president of Honduras is Ricardo Maduro, who was elected by
promising to reduce crime. So far, his efforts have not succeeded.
Population
Honduran society is mostly rural and poor. The most densely populated area is
the Rio Ulua Valley. Honduras has about 46 people living per square
kilometer. At the latest estimate in 2005, the population was 6,975,204. 90% of this
population is mestizo, while 7% is Amerindian. There is a 2% population of black
people, and only 1% is Caucasian. About 73% of the Honduran people live in
urban areas.
Language and Religion
The official language of Honduras is Spanish, but there are
some Amerindian dialects spoken, and English is mostly used during business.
97% of the country is Roman Catholic. There is an increasing number of
Protestants, mostly after the mass destruction of Hurricane Mitch. There are several
famous Protestant congregations in Honduras, both in the east and on the Bay
Islands.
Education
The literacy rate in Honduras is estimated to be 83.7%. The
government has pledged to raise this rate. Before 1957, only the wealthy
could afford the private schools. Before then, the private schools were the only
schools in the country, because the Honduras did not have a national education
system. President Ramon Morales introduced reformation, and began a school
construction program. Education in Honduras is free between ages 7 and 12.The
National Autonomous University of Honduras is a major higher education school. It
is located in Tegucigalpa.
Climate
The climate is subtropical in the lowlands and temperate in the
mountains. There are two seasons in Honduras. They are the rainy season and
the dry season.
Avila sent me this: I saw the page about Honduras. I just went in July and there
are fast food restaurants and malls, because I went to visit my grandma in Puerto Cortes
and went to La Ceiba. There are malls and Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Church's Chicken, Little Caesars,
Burger King and many more.
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