AMAPALA  , the only

port on the Pacific coast of Honduras, on the northern shore of Tigre island, in the Bay of Fonseca (q.v.); in 130 3' N., and 87° 9' W . Pop . (19o5) about 4000 . Amapala was founded in 1838, and its port was opened and declared free in 1868 . The roadstead is perfectly sheltered and so deep that the largest vessels can lie within a few yards of the shore . It is the natural outlet for the commerce of some of the richest parts of Honduras, Nicaragua and Salvador; and during the 19th century it exported large quantities of .gold, silver and other ores, although its progress was retarded by the delay in constructing a transcontinental railway from Puerto Cortes . Its depots on the mainland, both about 30 in. distant,are La Brea, for the line to Puerto Cortes, and San Lorenzo, for Tegucigalpa . Silver is still exported, in: addition to hides, timber, coffee and indigo, and there are valuable fisheries .