Puerto Lempira
| Puerto Lempira | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
  Puerto Lempira | |
| Coordinates: 15°16′N 83°46′W / 15.267°N 83.767°W | |
| Country | Honduras |
| Department | Gracias a Dios |
| Villages | 31 |
| Population (2001 [1]) | |
| • Municipality | 23,333 |
| • Urban | 4,012 |
| Time zone | Central America (UTC-6) |
Puerto Lempira is the capital of the Gracias a Dios department in northeastern Honduras, located on the shores of the Caratasca Lagoon. Though it does not have paved roads, it is the largest town in the La Mosquitia region.[2]
The town is named for the 16th century leader of the indigenous Lenca peoples, Lempira, who directed an ultimately unsuccessful resistance against the Spanish conquistador forces in the 1530s.
Puerto Lempira became the departmental capital in 1975, prior to which it was Brus Laguna. In the 1980s, the town became a center for CIA operations against the Sandinistas.[3]
Its population as of 2001 was 4,012.[4]
Puerto Lempira is sister city to Plattsburgh, New York, USA, and has been since 2011.
References
- ↑ XVI CENSO DE POBLACION Y V DE VIVIENDA 2001
- ↑ Chandler, Gary & Prado, Liza. Honduras & the Bay Islands (2007) p. 297 (ISBN 978-1740591508)
- ↑ Gill, Nicholas. Frommer's Honduras (2009) p.260 (ISBN 978-0470159439)
- ↑ "Puerto-Lempira" Encyclopædia Britannica, Retrieved November 9, 2009
Coordinates: 15°16′N 83°46′W / 15.267°N 83.767°W
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