Aguán River
river in Honduras
The Aguán River (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈɣwan]); also commonly known by its Spanish name, Rio Aguán) is a river in Honduras. It rises in the Yoro region to the west of San Lorenzo and briefly runs south before turning east-northeast, passing San Lorenzo, Olanchito and Tocoa before entering the Caribbean Sea east of Puerto Castilla.
The river is 240 kilometres (150 mi) long. In 1998 Hurricane Mitch caused to the river to burst its banks at several points along its length. The maximal discharge at Sabá was estimated at almost 20,000 cubic metres per second (710,000 cu ft/s). The village of Santa Rosa de Aguán was washed away by the river, causing dozens of deaths.
The Aguán River's watershed is one of seven watersheds in Honduras, and covers over 1 million hectares (3,900 mi2), of which around 200,000 are in the Aguán River Valley. The Aguán River Valley includes the major agricultural area of Bajo Aguán.
Spanish and British accounts in the 18th and 19th centuries, including that of Edward Long in 1774, described the river as forming part of the western frontier of Taguzgalpa with Honduras.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Aguán River” as river in Honduras. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as river in Honduras. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2631101. VIAF identifies the subject as 315527060. The Library of Congress control number is sh87007672. Authority coordinates are 15.872, -85.630. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1998 and 1774.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Aguán River”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Aguán River primary sources, Aguán River archive and Aguán research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Aguán River”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Aguán River” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.