The Merendón Mountains rise in western Cortés, but the department is mostly a tropical lowland, the Sula Valley, crossed by the Ulúa and Chamelecon rivers.

Main cities also include Choloma, La Lima, Villanueva, and the sea ports of Puerto Cortés and Omoa.

Cortés is the economic heartland of Honduras, as the Sula Valley is the country's main agricultural and industrial region.

US banana companies arrived in the area in the late 19th century, and established vast plantations, as well as infrastructure to ship the fruit to the United States.

San Pedro Sula attracted substantial numbers of European, Central American, and Palestinian and Lebanese immigrants.