- Climate
- Climate/vegetation varies within the department: Pacific dry forest in the extreme southeast, wetter cloud-forest zone in the north (Montaña de la Flor)
- Terrain
- High mountain peaks carry cloud forest, e.g. La Tigra National Park and Cerro Uyuca
- Soil
- Mountain ranges are rocky and mostly clay, under pine forest cover
- Varieties
- Geisha · Parainema
- Base process
- Washed