Meámbar is a municipality in the department of Comayagua in Honduras. It covers an area of and had a population of 12,522 inhabitants according to the 2013 census.
History
Petroglyphs and other archeological evidence from the pre-Columbian period have been found between the villages of Loma Alta and Palmital in the municipality. The history of the first known settlement goes back to 1630 to the indigenous village of Meámbar, which was located east to the current settlement on the right bank of the Piojo River. "Meámbar" roughly translates to "water of the corn and sugarcane" in the Mesoamerican language. In 1801, Alonso Oseguera de Contreras established the municipality on the west bank of the Piojo River. During the Spanish colonial period, it served as a strategic transit center due to its central location, and became a major commercial hub.
Geography
Meámbar is located in the department of Comayagua in Honduras. The municipality covers an area of . It is located in the northwestern part of the department, and borders the Cortés department to the north and west. The Laguna Seca Mountain mountains are located in the west central part of the municipality. It is traversed by the Maragua and Piojo rivers, and the water storage area of the Francisco Morazán Dam, which is located in the nearby municipality of Santa Cruz de Yojoa, occupies majority of the north western part of the municipality. Approximately 80% of the land area is covered by broad leaf forests, and the Meámbar Azul National Park is located next to the along Lake Yojoa to the west.
Meámbar has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification: Am). The municipality has an average annual temperature of and typically receives about of annual precipitation.
Administration
The municipality comprises 25 aldeas (villages) and their associated caseríos (hamlets).
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Aldeas of Meámbar