Choluteca River

The 3rd place on the list of longest rivers in Honduras is Choluteca River (Ro Grande o Choluteca in Spanish). This is a river in southern Honduras. Its headwaters are in the department of Francisco Morazán, near Lepaterique (southwest Tegucigalpa), and it runs north through the city of Tegucigalpa, then south through the departments of El Paraso and Choluteca. The river's mouth, lying among wetlands, is near the coastal town of Cedeo on the Gulf of Fonseca.

According to FAO, the Choluteca River stretches 349 kilometers from its headwaters to its mouth. Its hydrographic basin covers 7,681 km2. It increases his volume from May to October, along with the wet season. Its basin is affected by extreme drought and the El Nio phenomenon, which is generally accompanied by major bush fires.

This river's flooding was a major cause of devastation during Hurricane Mitch in 1998. It swept out large communities in Tegucigalpa and grew to six times its normal size in Choluteca. It obliterated neighborhoods and a portion of the commercial area there. It also ravaged the tiny hamlet of Morolica, where it not only destroyed the entire village but also killed or disappeared practically all of its people.

Length: 349 km (217 mi)