Key facts
- Country
- Honduras
- Founded
- 4 July 1893
- Named after
- Hernán Cortés
- Capital city
- San Pedro Sula
- Type
- Departmental
- Governor
- Alexa Dinorah Solorzano (2022–2026) ( LIBRE )
- Total
- 3,911 km (1,510 sq mi)
- Highest elevation
- 2,242 m (7,356 ft)
- Lowest elevation
- 0 m (0 ft)
- Rank
- 1st in Honduras
- Density
- 414.7/km (1,074/sq mi)
- Ethnicities
- Ladino Garifuna
- Religions
Article
Cortés is one of the 18 departments of Honduras. The department covers an area of 3,954 km and, in 2015, had an estimated population of 1,612,762, making it the most populous in Honduras. The Merendón Mountains rise in western Cortés, but the department is mostly a tropical lowland, the Sula Valley, crossed by the Ulúa River and the Chamelecón river.
It was created in 1893 from parts of the departments of Santa Bárbara and Yoro. The departmental capital is San Pedro Sula. Main cities also include Choloma, La Lima, Villanueva, and the sea ports of Puerto Cortés and Omoa. The Atlantic coast of the Department of Cortés is known for its many excellent beaches.