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Honduran units of measurement

A number of units of measurement were used in Honduras for length, mass, volume etc. In Honduras, the metric system was adopted in 1910, and has been compulsory since 1912, under a joint convention between Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Pre-metric units

Before the introduction of the metric system, a number of modified Spanish (Castilian), English and local units were used, and continue to be used today by a large part of the country.

Length

A number of units were used to measure length. One vara was equal to 0.836 m. Some other units are given below:

1 cuarta = vara

1 tercia = vara

1 mecate = 24 varas.

1 legua = 5,000 varas

Area

The manzana was used by farmers to measure land area. For large areas, land was customarily measured in labors or legua.

1 manzana = 10,000 vara<sup>2</sup> = 1.727 acres = 6,989 m<sup>2</sup> ≈ .7 hectare

1 labor = 1 million vara<sup>2</sup>

1 legua = 25 labors = 25 million vara<sup>2</sup>

Mass

Several units were used to measure mass in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. Some units are given below:

1 caja = 16&nbsp;kg

1 quintal = 100&nbsp;libras ≈ 46&nbsp;kg ≈ 101.4&nbsp;lbs

1 carga = 2&nbsp;quintals ≈ 200&nbsp;lbs ≈ 90.72&nbsp;kg

Volume

Several units were used to measure capacity in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

1 botella = 0.63 to 0.67 L.

1 cajuela = 16.6 L.

1 cuartillo varies between countries, but defined as 4 octavillos or 1/4 almude and contains 1.156&nbsp;L ≈ 1.222 qt(US) (liquid) ≈ 1.017 qt(Imp)

1 fanega = 12 almudes = 48 cuartillos ≈ 55.50&nbsp;L ≈ 1.960 ft<sup>3</sup> (1.575 U.S. bushels)

Notes

References