Bay Islands

Group of three islands – Roatán, Utila, and Guanaja – curving in a northeasterly direction off the north coast of Honduras and forming a department of the country; population of Roatán, the largest island (1996) 10,600. Roatán is 48 km/30 mi long by 14 km/9 mi wide. The main products are coconuts and bananas. The islands attract many tourists, particularly for scuba diving.

Fishing and boat building are the traditional industries, though the latter is in decline. The islands and the reefs around them are protected areas. The Bay Islands Conservation Association works to preserve the reefs and to limit the disturbance of the underwater environment by divers.

Christopher Columbus anchored here in 1502. The islands were occupied long before the Spanish arrived; settlement is thought to originate around AD 600, although evidence is available only from around AD 1000. Britain acquired the islands in 1850, but ceded them to Honduras in 1859. Most of the population are bilingual in Spanish and English.