Bay Islands Department

Location of Islas de la Bahía department

Islas de la Bahía ("Bay Islands") is one of the 18 departments into which the Central American nation of Honduras is divided. The departmental capital is Roatan, on the island of Roatán.

The department covers a total surface area of 261 km² and, in 2005, had an estimated population of 43,018 people. It comprises three geographically separate groups:

1. Islas de la Bahía (with the main islands Roatán, Guanaja and Útila, and numerous satellite islands)
2. Cayos Cochinos, further south
3. Swan Islands, 120 km to the north

History

The Bay Islands were first discovered by Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage to America in 1502. They were later claimed, and successively held, by Great Britain, Spain, and the Dutch United Provinces. England finally took control in 1643 and, with the exception of a one-month period of Spanish dominance in 1780, held onto them as a Crown colony, dependent on Jamaica. In 1860, in the aftermath of the William Walker filibustering affair, the British crown recognized Honduran sovereignty and ceded possession of them. The department of Islas de la Bahía was officially incorporated into the nation on 14 March 1913.

Tourism and Infrastructure

There are several islands within the department, with three larger ones: Útila, Roatán and Guanaja.

Roatán has a paved road that connects the most important communities of the Island. Starting from the Western End of the Island, at the community of West Bay, the roads leads through the communities of West End, Sandy Bay, Coxen Hole, Brick Bay, Mount Pleasant, French Harbour and Oakridge - Punta Gorda. From here, the road becomes a dirt road and continues east for a distance, to the area of Paya Bay, Camp Bay, Port Royal, and other communities.

Útila has one paved road that runs through the island. The majority of establishments line this main corridor, and the road continues unpaved to the further reaches of the island.

Municipalities

The department is divided into 4 municipalities (municipalidades):

Municipality	description	Capital	Area (km²)	Population census 2001
Guanaja	Guanaja island	Guanaja	55.4	4,535
José Santos Guardiola	eastern Roatán island Helene Island, Morat, Barbaretta, JonesVille, Pigeon Cays	Oak Ridge	64.6	7,613
Roatán	western Roatán island Swan Islands? Cayos Cochinos	Coxen Hole	91.3	17,425
Útila	Útila island	Útila	49.3	1,979
Islas de la Bahia	incl. Swan Islands and Cayos Cochinos	Coxen Hole	260.6	31,552