Lempira (department)
It was named Gracias department until 1943. In colonial times, Gracias was an early important administrative center for the Spaniards. It eventually lost importance to Antigua, in Guatemala.
Lempira is a rugged department, and it is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The highest mountain peak in Honduras, Cerro las Minas, is in Lempira. The department was named after Lempira, a local chieftain of the Lenca people who fought against the Spanish conquistadores in the early 16th century. Opals are mined near the town of Erandique.
The department covers a total surface area of 4,290 km. In 2005, had an estimated population of 277,910.
Lempira is one of the poorest departments of the whole country and has the lowest Human Development Index.
Municipalities
- Belén
- Candelaria
- Cololaca
- Erandique
- Gracias
- Gualcince
- Guarita
- La Campa
- La Iguala
- Las Flores
- La Unión
- La Virtud
- Lepaera
- Mapulaca
- Piraera
- San Andrés
- San Francisco
- San Juan Guarita
- San Manuel Colohete
- San Marcos de Caiquín
- San Rafael
- San Sebastián
- Santa Cruz
- Talgua
- Tambla
- Tomalá
- Valladolid
- Virginia
Notes
- ^ Lempira was one of the first 7 departments in which the national territory was divided in the first political division of Honduras in 1825.
References
- ^ "TelluBase—Honduras Fact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series)" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-01-11.
- ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
- ^ "Consulta Base de datos INE en línea: Censo de Población y Vivienda 2013" [Consult INE online database: Population and Housing Census 2013]. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) (in Spanish). El Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). 1 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-13.