Mosquito Coast (or Mosquitia), the lowland of eastern Nicaragua and northeastern Honduras on the Caribbean Sea. It is not named for the insect but for the Miskito Indians, who make up most of its sparse population. It is a region of dense pine forests with numerous rivers and heavy rainfall. The area was a British protectorate from 1678 to 1860. Honduras's claim to its portion of the Mosquito Coast was disputed by Nicaragua during 1912–60.