Gulf of Fonseca

The Gulf of Fonseca is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean which is near northwest El Salvador and northeast Honduras and southeast of Nicaragua. It was discovered in 1522 and reaches inland for about forty miles and covers an area of about 700 square miles. The entrance is about twenty miles across but widens to approximately fifty miles. The gulf is fed by the Goascorán, Choluteca, and Negro Rivers of Honduras and the Estero Real River of Nicaragua. The gulf’s shores are covered with mangrove swamps, except for in the west where the Conchagua Volcano in El Salvador rises dramatically from the shore The main ports are La Unión in El Salvador, Amapala on Isla del Tigre in Honduras, and Puerto Morazán which is in Nicaragua. Notable among the islands in the gulf are Zacate Grande, El Tigre, and Meanguera. The gulf of fonseca is situated in a typically subtropical climate zone with alternating rainy and dry seasons. During the rainy season from May to November, the gulf receives a high amount of rainfall (1,400-1,600 mm), which occurs in an unpredictable pattern in short and intense bursts.