ABSTRACT
The context of land, climate, culture, and race often stimulates or moderates the course of a nation's history. Unlike the rest of Central America, Honduras is a land without active volcanoes. Extending south from San Pedro Sula and dividing Honduras from north to south is a transisthmian depression, in effect a series of interconnected river valleys and interior highland basins. Climate in Honduras varies according to local topography and elevation. The development of Honduras has been affected by rugged topography and the relative isolation of extensive portions of the country. By the 1980s, Honduras could count nearly 13,500 kilometers of roads and highways, with about two-thirds considered all weather. Prior to 1974, Honduras owned a minor portion of its railways, which were operated by the National Railroad of Honduras. Whereas quality of life and opportunities vary widely between urban and rural sectors in Honduras, the ethnic and racial composition of the society is much more homogeneous.
