Country Profiles » Honduras

Country Profile: Honduras

Country Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Honduras 1:50,000 Scale Topographic Maps (DMA E752)DMA1:50,0001955 – 2002245
Cuba 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapFCO1:1,000,0001
El Salvador 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsIGNES1:100,0001968 – 197011
Guatemala 1:250,000 Scale Topographic MapsIGN1:250,00019813
VMAP0 1:1,000,000 Scale Vector DataNIMA1:1,000,00019924

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
El Salvador 1:100,000 Scale Geological MapsBGR1:100,00019786
El Salvador 1:500,000 Scale Geological MapCIG1:500,00019741
El Salvador 1:300,000 Scale Aeromagnetic MapIGNES1:300,00019811
Honduras 1:50,000 Scale Geological MapsIGNH1:50,0001970 – 199830
Nicaragua 1:500,000 Scale Geological MapsINETER1:500,00019954

Thematic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
The World 1:30,000,000 Scale Topographic Map Series 1145 (NGA)DMA1:30,000,0002

Global Census Archive: GIS Census Data

YearQuestions / AnswersADM LevelPolygons at ADMData Points
200152 / 39933,7271,487,073
201364 / 62953,7322,347,428

Global Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military City PlansVTU GShVaries1944 – 20033,020
Soviet Military 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsVTU GSh1:100,0001947 – 199924,897
Soviet Military 1:200,000 Scale Topographic MapsVTU GSh1:200,0001949 – 200917,799
Soviet Military 1:500,000 Scale Topographic MapsVTU GSh1:500,0001953 – 19983,093

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
NGA Nautical Charts POD Certified (All Scales)NGAVaries1943 – 20134,517

Aeronautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Joint Operations Graphic (JOG 1501A) 1:250,000 – AeronauticalDMA1:250,0001958 – 20074,204
Tactical Pilotage Chart (TPC) 1:500,000 Scale – AeronauticalDMA1:500,0001967 – 2006598
Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) 1:1,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDMA1:1,000,0001969 – 2001243
Jet Navigation Chart (JNC) 1:2,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDMA1:2,000,0001971 – 1999117
Global Navigation and Planning Chart (GNC) 1:5,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDMA1:5,000,0001981 – 199927

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapsVTU GSh1:1,000,0001948 – 19941,089

Note: East View Geospatial is continuously sourcing new resources that may not yet be listed in Global Explorer. Please contact us if you have geodata needs beyond what is listed above and we will be happy to discuss available off-the-shelf and custom solutions.


Historical Country Mapping Information

Jump to: Topographic | Nautical | Aeronautical | Geological/Scientific | Soil | Vegetation/Forestry | Cadaster | Tourist/Reference

Topographic

The official mapping agency in Honduras is the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGNH), Comayagϋela (the twin town of capital Tegucigalpa), founded in 1946, although receiving its present name in 1966.

Very little of Honduras was mapped before the 1950s, when a 1:50,000 scale series was initiated by the Honduran Comisión Geográfica Especial in collaboration with the Inter-American Geodetic Survey (IAGS) and the American Army Map Service (AMS) (Series E752). 1:60,000 scale air photo cover was obtained in 1954-56, and horizontal and vertical control for the mapping was established by the IAGS in the same period. The 1:50,000 series is in 279 sheets, the first edition having been completed in 1987, and sheets are currently available, many in a second edition. The projection is Transverse Mercator, Clarke 1866 ellipsoid. The sheets are in the usual 10′ X 15′ AMS format, printed in five colors, with a 20 m contour interval and 10 m supplementary contours.

The country has also been covered in a joint 1:250,000 scale series of 15 sheets, undertaken by the IGNH in cooperation with the United States Defense Mapping Agency (now National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)).

In the late 1980s, a series of departmental maps, one for each of the 18 departments, were completed at scales of 1:120,000 to 1:350,000. These provide the most up-to-date topographic mapping of the country, with many sheets now in a second edition.

In 1984, five sheets at 1:100,000 scale were published in the border area with El Salvador, but no further sheets have been published at this scale.

Soviet military topographic mapping of Honduras is available at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (4 sheets, complete coverage, published 1963-1990); 1:500,000 (8 sheets, complete coverage, published 1985-1988); 1:200,000 (9 sheets, southern country coverage, published in 1984) and a city (1:10,000) topographic map of Tegucigalpa published in 1979. These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.

Back to top


Nautical

Nautical charts of the principal ports have been prepared by the Empresa Nacional Portuaria.

Back to top


Aeronautical

Three 1:500,000 scale aeronautical charts cover the country and are issued by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC).

Back to top


Geological/Scientific

The Dirección General de Minas e Hidrocarburos (DGMH) undertakes mineral resource surveys, but geological mapping is published by the IGNH. The principal series is at 1:50,000 scale using the corresponding topographic series as base maps. 31 sheets have so far been published at this scale. Some of these were prepared through a collaboration with the Honduran universities and the US Peace Corps. A new edition of the three-sheet 1:500,000 scale geological map of the country was published in 1991. Some hydrogeological maps were recently published, following collaborative work with the British Geological Survey, and a 1:1,000,000 geotechnical map was published in 1997.

Back to top


Soil

Soil mapping has been undertaken by the Consejo Superior de Planificación Económica (CONSUPLANE) under the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Back to top


Vegetation/Forestry

Forest mapping has been undertaken by the Corporación Hondureña de Desarrollo Forestal (COHDEFOR), and a 1:20,000 scale series started.

Back to top


Cadaster

A 1:10,000 scale map in four sheets of the capital, Tegucigalpa, was published in 1985 with 4 m interval contours. A new edition is in preparation. Other cities have also been mapped (Series E952) at scales of 1:12,500; 1:10,000 or 1:5,000, and pictomaps have been produced for some of the smaller cities. Cadastral survey is the responsibility of the Dirección Ejecutiva de Catastro.

Back to top


Tourist/Reference

The IGNH publishes an official map of the country at 1:500,000 scale and several smaller scale road and tourist maps, all of recent date.

The Traveller’s reference map of Honduras published by International Travel Maps (ITM), Vancouver, is an excellent general map of the country with layer tinted relief, an inset of Tegucigalpa and Comayagϋela and a place name index on the reverse.

Back to top


Content copyright © 2014 De Gruyter for e-version of World Mapping Today, 2nd Edition